Alabama Man Charged with Making Threats to Rabbis, Imam, and Others
Federal prosecutors have charged Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker, an Alabama man, with making threatening calls and texts to multiple rabbis, an imam, and others in the South. According to court documents, Shoemaker told one rabbi, “I want you to die,” and sent text messages to an Islamic center in Louisiana, stating that “jews and you musIimeens have declared war on us again, and we are going to defend ourselves.” Shoemaker was arrested earlier on related state charges of resisting arrest and possession of a pistol by a person forbidden to legally have a handgun.
An FBI agent wrote in court documents that Shoemaker made a series of menacing calls and texts to rabbis in Alabama and Louisiana, an imam in Georgia, a church in North Carolina, and others. Multiple firearms were later found in the man’s home, along with a suitcase full of ammunition and papers listing the names, addresses, and phone numbers of religious leaders and other prominent figures, authorities said. The agent noted that Shoemaker claimed his statements were satire, not a legitimate threat, but rather an attempt at intimidation and “psychological warfare.”
Court documents also suggest that Shoemaker has a diagnosed mental illness, which his grandmother reported he had refused to take medication for. The name of the diagnosis was redacted in public court documents. The FBI agent’s affidavit filed with federal court documents said that Shoemaker came to the attention of federal authorities after leaving threatening voice messages, including one earlier this month for a rabbi in Mountain Brook, Alabama.
Investigation and Arrest
The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office had announced that Shoemaker was taken into custody by a multi-agency force after the FBI and other law enforcement offices were “notified of credible threats of violence made against multiple synagogues throughout Alabama and surrounding states.” A photo posted by the sheriff’s department showed a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun, handgun, and piles of ammunition taken from his home. Needham is a small town in southwest Alabama located about 10 miles from the Mississippi-Alabama border. Shoemaker is being held in the Choctaw County Jail.
Sara Jones, FBI special agent in charge, said multiple law enforcement agencies acted “within hours of learning of a threat to a member of the Jewish community.” “This is a prime example of law enforcement working together to crush violent crime and protect the American people,” Jones said in a statement Friday. Ernest C. McCorquodale, III, a defense lawyer representing Shoemaker in the state charges, declined to comment when reached earlier this week.
Conclusion
The case highlights the importance of law enforcement agencies working together to prevent violent crime and protect communities. For more information on this story, visit Here
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