MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged an Alabama man with making threatening calls and texts to multiple rabbis, an imam, and others in the South, including telling one that 'I want you to die.' Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker of Needham, Alabama, was charged with making an Interstate Communications Threat. He was previously arrested on related state charges for resisting arrest and possession of a firearm by someone prohibited from having one.
An FBI agent noted in court documents that Shoemaker made a series of alarming calls and texts directed at rabbis in Alabama and Louisiana, an imam in Georgia, and a church in North Carolina. Authorities reported that weapons were discovered in his home, along with a suitcase full of ammunition and documents containing personal information of religious leaders.
Court documents indicate that Shoemaker has a diagnosed mental illness, with his grandmother stating that he had not been taking his prescribed medication. The nature of his mental health condition has not been disclosed publicly.
Shoemaker began making threatening communications to a rabbi in Mountain Brook, Alabama, and subsequent investigations linked him to multiple threats against others. One noted comment from Shoemaker included statements about pushing others to harm religious leaders, along with justifications he claimed were related to counter-terrorism.
Shoemaker remains in custody at the Choctaw County Jail, as law enforcement agencies have ramped up measures to safeguard religious institutions following credible threats against synagogues across Alabama and nearby states.
An FBI agent noted in court documents that Shoemaker made a series of alarming calls and texts directed at rabbis in Alabama and Louisiana, an imam in Georgia, and a church in North Carolina. Authorities reported that weapons were discovered in his home, along with a suitcase full of ammunition and documents containing personal information of religious leaders.
Court documents indicate that Shoemaker has a diagnosed mental illness, with his grandmother stating that he had not been taking his prescribed medication. The nature of his mental health condition has not been disclosed publicly.
Shoemaker began making threatening communications to a rabbi in Mountain Brook, Alabama, and subsequent investigations linked him to multiple threats against others. One noted comment from Shoemaker included statements about pushing others to harm religious leaders, along with justifications he claimed were related to counter-terrorism.
Shoemaker remains in custody at the Choctaw County Jail, as law enforcement agencies have ramped up measures to safeguard religious institutions following credible threats against synagogues across Alabama and nearby states.
