The Army soldier arrested last week for allegedly threatening to barge into a synagogue and “kill every single Jew” once had a Confederate flag as his Instagram profile picture, even though he’s from a Yankee state, and screenshots of comments he posted on the account show him arguing that white people are victims of racism, too.
“Just so all of you special snowflakes know hating whites cause (sic) there (sic) white is a hate crime and racist too!” Jakob Marcoulier, 22, wrote in one post dated August 2017.
Marcoulier also posted several military themed photos, including one of a gun-toting soldier with the words “God gave his arch (sic) angels weapons because even the Almighty knew you don't fight evil with tolerance and understanding."
There are also numerous photos of the soldier’s black lab “Dozer” as well as a photo from 2017 showing President Donald Trump with an 11-year-old boy who is mowing the White House lawn.
The Instagram postings appear to be a window into Marcoulier’s worldview during his teenage years, but there is none of the overt antisemitism or threats against Jews the FBI said it found on Discord that resulted in his arrest on a charge of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
“I’m not a nazi but I do know my facts,” Marcoulier posted on Instagram in August 2017.
Marcoulier, whose current Instagram photo is one of him posing in Army gear, and who refers to himself as a "Long Range Lobotomist," had been stationed at Fort Polk in Louisiana. He is now being held in the Rapides Parish Detention Center in Alexandria, Louisiana.
His public defender, Angelle Boudreaux, has argued in court papers that there is no basis to detain Marcoulier. "He is being detained unlawfully and he should be released immediately with conditions this Court deems appropriate,” the lawyer said.
Boudreaux did not immediately respond to an email inquiring about whether he would remain in federal custody.
Marcoulier has served in the Army since July 2023 and is an infantry soldier assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, according to the military. He has completed one operational rotation to Europe and has earned two Army Achievement Medals and the Overseas Service Ribbon.
Marcoulier’s mother, Kerrie Marcoulier, died at age 49 in September 2023. The Marcoulier family is from Westfield, Massachusetts, and the young soldier enlisted after graduating from Westfield Technical Academy, where he played hockey and basketball.
“One of her proudest moments was seeing her son off to the army earlier this summer,” her obituary reads. “She looked forward to hearing from him during their Sunday phone calls.”
When asked whether Marcoulier was ever disciplined for engaging in any antisemitic activities, Westfield Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said in an email they are "legally prohibited from discussing or disclosing the educational and disciplinary records of any current or former student."
"Furthermore, we do not comment on ongoing criminal investigations," Czaporowski wrote. "For these reasons, we cannot provide any information or comment regarding this matter."
Marcoulier was arrested after the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received a tip in February about threats being made against 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.”
Marcoulier also told people on Discord that attacking a synagogue was his “goal in life,” according to court documents.
If convicted, Marcoulier could be sentenced to up to five years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
