A soldier stationed at Fort Polk Army base in Louisiana was arrested after he threatened to walk into a synagogue and "kill every single Jew," the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana announced Monday.
Jakob Marcoulier, 22, was arrested last week and charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce after he told people on Discord about his plans, authorities said.
The FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received a tip in February about threats being made toward synagogues by a Discord user named "el.bostino," according to court documents.
In audio recordings secured by the FBI, a person authorities later determined to be Marcoulier could be heard saying that after his deployment, "if the Jews still have reign over our government, I am going to walk into a synagogue with my AK" and magazines and "kill every single Jew I know inside of that synagogue."
The person also told others in the Discord chat that they would see him in the news, adding that he needed to kill Jewish people "in order to make sure the white youth is ... secured.”
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller said threats against synagogues and Jewish Americans "are threats to the religious freedom promised to every single one of us."
"This case demonstrates the FBI’s vigilance and swift action in identifying and taking action against those who perpetrate these threats, and our Office looks forward to seeing justice done in this case," Keller said.
Marcoulier remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending further proceedings, according to online court records. A detention hearing is set for Wednesday afternoon.
Marcoulier could be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison if he is convicted, the U.S. attorney's office. An attorney for Marcoulier did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
