Federal agents arrested Jakob Marcoulier, a 22-year-old soldier stationed at Fort Polk, on April 23 after investigators say he used a Discord channel to vow he would "walk into a synagogue with my AK" and "kill every single Jew" inside. A federal criminal complaint ties those statements to a Discord user going by "el.bostino," whose recorded audio triggered an FBI probe, according to prosecutors.
Marcoulier is charged in a federal criminal complaint with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, a crime that carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana. The office said the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received an online tip in February and, from there, agents obtained recorded audio from Discord that they say links the threats to the account under investigation.
Investigators Recovered Discord Audio
KPLCTV reports that in those recordings, the speaker allegedly went into detail about the equipment he planned to bring, including a 75-round drum magazine, extra ammunition and level-four plates. He allegedly described the planned attack as his "goal in life" and told others they would "see me in the news" after deployment, language that authorities say showed he was talking about more than idle online bluster.
Federal And Military Investigators Joined The Probe
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana, the FBI and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division worked the case together, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Nickel is prosecuting. In the office’s statement, 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."
What The Charge Means
The charged offense, transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, falls under the federal statute codified at 18 U.S.C. § 875. As summarized by Cornell Law School, the law makes it a crime to send a communication containing a threat to injure another person, and it carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Courts treat this law as targeting "true threats" rather than overheated or rhetorical speech, which means prosecutors must show that a reasonable person would interpret the communication as a serious expression of intent to cause harm.
Next Steps In Court
Local reporting indicates Marcoulier was taken into custody on April 23 and remains detained while the federal complaint moves forward in the Western District of Louisiana. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Nickel, and investigators say it will proceed through the usual federal court process from here.
Reporting Tips And Community Safety
Officials have pointed to this case as a reminder that public tips can disrupt potentially violent plans before anyone gets hurt. Members of the public can submit information online at tips.fbi.gov or reach out through the agency’s contact options listed on the FBI website.
