A 31-year-old Chicago man is facing a federal charge after investigators say he posted an online message vowing to "shoot up a synagogue." Prosecutors say the post went up in early March following the killing of Iran’s supreme leader and was accompanied by other antisemitic messages and a request for an address. Federal filings say authorities later arrested the man in Florida, where he made an initial court appearance in Fort Myers. A magistrate judge ordered him released on $100,000 bond with electronic monitoring.
What prosecutors say
According to CBS Chicago, federal charging documents identify the defendant as Timothy Holmes and allege that on March 3, he posted "I'm going to shoot up a synagogue" on X. The message allegedly came in response to a post about the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The FBI affidavit cited by prosecutors also describes other online posts. In one, Holmes allegedly provided a U.S. address for a relative of an Israeli official and wrote, "From the river to the sea every jew will die." In another post on March 1, the complaint says he asked, "What's their address? Flying to Florida this week. Just out of curiosity." His next court date in federal court in Chicago has not yet been set, according to the filings.
Federal charge and legal standard
Prosecutors have charged Holmes under 18 U.S.C. § 875, the federal statute that bars transmitting threatening communications across state lines. As summarized by Cornell Law School, the law makes it a crime to send a communication containing a threat to injure another person and carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison.
Courts have long wrestled with how that law intersects with the First Amendment. The Supreme Court’s decision in Elonis v. United States, discussed in Justia, tightened the focus on the defendant’s mental state while confirming that so-called "true threats" are not protected speech.
Court appearance in Fort Myers
Federal records show Holmes was arrested in Florida and brought before Magistrate Judge Nicholas Mizell in Fort Myers. The judge ordered him released on a $100,000 bond and placed him on electronic monitoring. He is also barred from possessing firearms and from accessing social media or chat platforms, according to CBS Chicago. The case itself is filed in federal court in Chicago and will proceed in the U.S. District Court there.
Context: a rise in antisemitic incidents
Groups that track antisemitism say the alleged posts land at a time of sharply elevated anti-Jewish incidents nationwide. The Anti-Defamation League’s 2024 audit reported record numbers of antisemitic assaults, harassment, and vandalism, and community leaders have urged houses of worship to stay on high alert. Data from the Anti-Defamation League has been repeatedly cited by local and national officials raising those concerns.
What’s next
If the case goes to trial, the government will have to convince a jury that the online posts amounted to a legally recognizable "true threat" under federal law. For now, investigators are continuing to comb through Holmes’ online activity and check for any connections beyond the messages described in the complaint.
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