American citizen arrested for threats to kill Trump, 'burn down' U.S. embassy branch in Tel Aviv
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Joseph Patrick Neumeyer appeared in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sunday, where the 28-year-old, dual U.S.-German citizen was charged with threatening to kill U.S. President Donald Trump and to bomb a U.S. embassy branch in Tel Aviv.
Israel deported Neumeyer, of Colorado, to New York on Saturday, per the U.S. Justice Department. He faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, per the department.
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'This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans and President Trump's life,' stated Pam Bondi, the U.S. attorney general. 'The department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.'
'Neumeyer not only made threats against Americans and U.S. diplomatic missions, but also allegedly attempted to carry out those threats by bringing potentially deadly devices to the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv,' stated Steven Jensen, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington field office.
'Let his arrest carry an unmistakable message,' Jensen stated. 'The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue those who attempt to harm U.S. citizens and interests abroad.'
The U.S. government alleges that on May 19 — in the month after he arrived in Israel—Neumeyer wrote, 'Join me this afternoon in Tel Aviv and 'We are burning down the U.S. embassy' on Facebook.
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'Join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America. Death to Americans,' he wrote, directing an expletive at 'the west,' per the criminal complaint.
On May 19, Neumeyer spat on a guard outside the U.S. embassy branch artist in Tel Aviv but was able to flee, while yelling profanities, as the guard sought to detain him. After a guard grabbed him by the backpack, Neumeyer managed to break free and escape, leaving the backpack behind, per the complaint.
'Law enforcement recovered from Neumeyer's backpack several bottles that had been turned into improvised incendiary devices, commonly known as 'Molotov cocktails,'' per the Justice Department. 'Authorities confirmed the presence of flammable fluid in the bottles.'
The complaint described a guard noticing a 'strong odour of 'pure' alcohol emanating from the backpack' and 'a bottle with black cloth protruding from its neck.'
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