A Chicago man was charged this week with threatening to attack a Jewish house of worship after posting the threat on social media in apparent response to news of an Iranian leader’s assassination, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday.

Timothy Holmes, 31, allegedly wrote “I’m going to shoot a synagogue” in a reply to a post from an official Israeli government account. Prosecutors say he also published a series of “derisive posts concerning Jewish people” and shared what he claimed was the U.S. address of relatives of an Israeli government official.

Holmes was arrested in Florida and appeared that afternoon before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Despite the government’s objection, he was released on a $100,000 bond under strict conditions: no firearms or dangerous weapons, no contact with victims or witnesses, no use of social media or chat platforms, mandatory GPS monitoring, and full access to his electronic devices for compliance checks. His travel is restricted to the Illinois and Florida districts where he is required to appear in court.

He faces up to five years in federal prison.

Andrew Boutros, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, did not mince words. “Antisemitism has no place in our society,” he said. “This administration has made clear that threats and violence against the Jewish community will not be tolerated. Working closely with our law enforcement partners, we will find, prosecute and hold accountable the perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic threats and violence.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)