May 26 (UPI) — A U.S. citizen was charged in the United States with attempting to firebomb the U.S. embassy in Israel earlier this month.
The suspect, Joseph Neumeyer, was deported by Israel to the United States and was arrested by FBI agents on Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
According to the criminal complaint unsealed Sunday, Neumeyer, who was born in Colorado but is a dual U.S.-German citizen, is believed to have left the United States for Israel via Toronto in April.
On May 19, at about 1:20 p.m. local time, he is accused of approaching the Branch Office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on foot with a dark-colored backpack.
When encountered by a local guard on foot patrol, Neumeyer, who was about six feet away from an embassy employee entrance to the facility, he allegedly spat at and cursed the law enforcement officer. The guard grabbed Neumeyer’s backpack, but Neumeyer managed to flee the scene without his bag.
A search of the backpack found three bottles, one of which had a cloth protruding from its neck, according to the criminal complaint, which identified the objects as Molotov cocktails.
Authorities tracked Neumeyer to a hotel about five blocks away from the embassy where he was staying and he was taken into Israeli police custody.
“The defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans and President Trump’s life,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.
“The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”
The criminal complaint includes posts Neumeyer allegedly published to his Facebook account in the months ahead of the attempt on the U.S. embassy, calling for the death of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Death to Trump. Death to America,” one post from March 31 states, according to the complaint.
On the morning of the alleged failed attack, a post published to the Facebook account read: “Join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America, death to Americans and [expletive] the west.”
If convicted on the charge of attempting to destroy the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv by fire or explosive, Neumeyer faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
Neumeyer was deported to the United States just days after a fatal shooting at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., has raised fears about the safety of U.S. and Israeli diplomatic facilities amid a resurgence in Israel’s war in Gaza.
Two Israeli employees of the Israeli Embassy were gunned down Wednesday night outside the Capital Jewish Museum where an event was being hosted by the American Jewish Committee.
The suspect, Elias Rodriguez, 31, was heard saying “Free, free Palestine” as he was being detained.
Decades of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas exploded into a full-fledged war after the militant group killed 1,200 Israelis and took 251 more hostage in a bloody surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel has responded by devastating Gaza, killing nearly 54,000 Palestinians.
Less than two weeks ago, Israel launched a new military offensive in Gaza, attracting criticism from allies such as Britain, Canada and France.
