Defendant was indicted on four counts of Interstate Transmission of Threatening Communication in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c).
asserted
Defendant → indict → §
The counts were based on, and quoted, statements posted by Defendant on the social media platform Gab.
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counts → base → platform
The statements included in the Indictment are as follows:
- I'm just a random nobody in the US and I can pick any synagogue I want and go postal on it and the president will be visiting the place the next week to pay respects to his real masters.
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president → include → masters
Your theater kid shit will be easy to play and as soon as I get an organized group of men willing to act on it we are going after your ass zog trash.
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we → play → trash
I don't care about trump, and I wouldn't even live to see him there most likely assuming I jihaded any place, but the team would have all your moves laid out in advance and they'd be waiting.
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they → care → advance
And then we'd hit you again at the funeral once the more important people showed up to grift.
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people → hit → funeral
- Zionists do not have the authority to lecture me on sexual morals or anything else.
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Zionists → have → morals
They're criminals and I am going to kill them.
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I → go → them
- If I'm NEVER getting a family or a house in shithole America what else do I have to do better than KILL my state representatives?
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I → get → representatives
God that sounds awesome.
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that → sound → ?
I want them to die so bad.
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them → want → ?
Like I'm looking up what is their schedule, where are they and when so I can potentially kill them.
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I → look → them
That's how FUCKING PISSED I am about America ripping me off.
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America → rip → me
- My Goal for the next 10-20 years is to get hot girl I can have kids with, 10 acres of land to live on, stable income to support my family.
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I → get → family
And if I can't get that as upper middle class white collar educated heritage US guy then I am going to attack the federal government and kill their employees or the US military.
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I → get → employees
Right now – looking like terrorism is my better option.
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looking → look → terrorism
I like JD Vance meme.
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I → like → meme
We are going to fucking kill you.
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We → go → you
You are going to make this deal available to me or I am going to start building bombs.
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I → go → bombs
The Grand Jury also made special findings in the Indictment regarding two of the charged counts.
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Jury → make → counts
First, regarding the statement "I can pick any synagogue I want and go postal on it," the Grand Jury alleged that Griffin "intentionally selected any synagogue as the object of his threat because of the actual and perceived religion of persons associated with synagogues."
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Griffin → regard → synagogues
The second special finding was that Griffin "intentionally selected the victims of his threat because of the actual and perceived religion of such persons," regarding his statement that "Zionists do not have the authority to lecture me on sexual morals or anything else.
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Zionists → select → morals
They're criminals and I am going to kill them."
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I → go → them
On July 28, 2026, Defendant entered a plea of Not Guilty….
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Defendant → enter → plea
Defendant's primary argument is that his statements are not true threats as a matter of law because they contain hyperbolic, conditional language that could not reasonably be understood as a serious expression of intent to cause harm.
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that → contain → harm
In support, Defendant emphasizes that his threats did not identify a particular victim or specific location for any planned attack.
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threats → emphasize → attack
He also points out that some of the threats are preceded by conditional language, including, "as soon as I get an organized group of men willing to act" and "[i]f I'm NEVER getting a family or a house in shithole America."
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I → point → America
…
[S]ome communications are constitutionally protected as a matter of law, such as when no reasonable jury could interpret the communication as conveying a serious expression of intent to cause violence….
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jury → protect → violence
[But i]n this case, … a jury is needed to resolve contested factual issues.
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jury → need → issues
Although the parties agree on basic facts like who made the statements, what they said, and to whom they were communicated, the parties genuinely dispute whether the statements could reasonably be interpreted as threats.
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statements → agree → threats
This disagreement carries weight because Defendant's threats do contain some language that could be viewed as hypothetical, abstract, or conditional.
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that → carry → language
The role of the factfinder will thus be crucial in determining whether such hyperbolic language, when paired next to more direct language like "[w]e are going to fucking kill you," "convey[s] a real possibility that violence will follow."
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violence → determine → possibility
Here, at least some viewers of Defendant's Gab posts found their content alarming because viewers reported the posts in online tips to the FBI.
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viewers → find → FBI
For this reason, as well as those explained below, the Court disagrees with Defendant's contention that his statements are constitutionally protected as a matter of law.
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statements → explain → law
The Court is also not persuaded that Defendant's statements are protected because they are mere hyperbolic expressions of frustrations with the current political environment.
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they → persuade → environment
Of course, it is a bedrock principle of the First Amendment that citizens may criticize their government.
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citizens → criticize → government
And some statements expressing political hyperbole, such as a mere "offhand comment during a political rally," may not be serious and direct enough to warrant classification as a true threat.
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statements → express → threat
It is also true that other cases feature true threats that identify a more specific target victim or precise location than the threats made here.
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that → feature → threats
Even so, for purposes of the First Amendment question, the Court finds that the statements made by Defendant fall within the true threats category.
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statements → find → category
The fact that a statement contains political content does not mean it cannot constitute a threat.
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it → contain → threat
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
