A 20-year-old New Jersey man from a wealthy suburb is facing charges of supporting Hamas and making threats on line.
Authorities accuse Jonathan Xie of saying ” “I want to shoot the pro-Israel demonstrators…you can get a gun and shoot your way through or use a vehicle and ram people… all you need is a gun or a vehicle to go on a rampage,” according to Heavy. The FBI also accuses him of expressing support for North Korea and Saddam Hussein on social media.
If the charges are correct, one has to wonder how did a man who has no religious or cultural ties to Palestine become so fascinated with the extremist group Hamas.
NJ.com reports Xie recently graduated from high school and played in a school band and was active on social media. The FBI arrested him on Wednesday. He is in prison on charges of providing material support to a designated terror group, making false statements and transmitting threats against Jews and Trump Tower.
Prosecutors describe Xie as an “homegrown violent extremist.”
“Today, in so many of our cases you just have someone online who’s just interested,” said Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. “It’s very difficult to say with authority what that first step is, but once that door is opened, it’s wide open. It’s very easy to find more information that furthers those beliefs that you’re developing.”
NBC New York , quoting an unnamed source, reports Xie has a history of mental illness, and had three guns in his family’s home. He also tried to enlist in the army earlier this year and answered “no” when asked if he had ever associated with terrorists.
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