Man arrested with body armor and a suitcase filled with ammunition after threatening multiple synagogues, officials say
Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker arrested with body armor and a suitcase filled with ammo after threatening multiple synagogues.
By Cindy Von Quednow, CNN
(CNN) — In the latest antisemitic incident to rock a community, threatened attacks on synagogues in Alabama and surrounding states were thwarted when a person was arrested with a suitcase full of ammunition, body armor and other items, officials said Tuesday.
The FBI and other agencies were notified of “credible threats of violence” against the places of worship and a suspect was eventually identified and arrested Tuesday, according to a Facebook post from the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.
A search of the suspect’s home yielded weapons, the suitcase filled with ammunition, body armor and “other items related to the plans of violence,” the office said.
The arrest comes as antisemitic sentiment and attacks have surged globally. A car ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue left two dead in Manchester, England, earlier this month, less than two weeks after a late-night fire was set at a synagogue in Florida. Antisemitic incidents in the US rose in 2024 for the fourth year in a row, reaching their highest level since the Anti-Defamation League started tracking them, according to an annual audit from the organization.
It is unclear how the latest threats were made. The suspect was identified as Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker, the Facebook post said. He is 33, according to Choctaw County Sheriff Scott Lolley.
CNN is working to determine whether Shoemaker has an attorney.
He intended to not be taken alive and was possibly planning attacks on public officials, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office said without elaborating.
Shoemaker was arrested for local charges of resisting arrest and certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm, and federal charges are “likely,” officials said, noting that the investigation is ongoing. It is unclear whether he will face hate crime charges.
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CNN’s Cara Lynn Clarkson contributed to this report.
