American Charged With Attempted Firebombing Of Tel Aviv U.S. Embassy

A dual U.S.-German citizen allegedly intended to bomb the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, and he faces years behind bars and a hefty fine if convicted, authorities said Sunday.

Joseph Neumeyer, born in Colorado, approached the embassy May 19 while carrying a dark-colored backpack and spat at an embassy guard near the employee entrance of the diplomatic building, according to a criminal complaint by the FBI. Neumeyer swore at the guard and managed to escape arrest, but he left behind his backpack. In it, the guard found at least one Molotov cocktail, the complaint alleged.

Law enforcement agents tracked him to a nearby hotel, where they arrested him after he identified himself and allegedly suggested that his backpack contained Molotov cocktail bottles. Hours before the incident, Neumeyer allegedly posted on a Facebook account — that the FBI said was his — messages such as “Join me this afternoon in Tel Aviv- we are burning down the US embassy” and “Join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America, death to Americans, and f— the west,” screenshots in the criminal complaint show. (RELATED: Two Israeli Embassy Staff Killed In DC Near Jewish Museum, Suspect Shouted ‘Free Palestine’)

More than once in March, Neumeyer allegedly posted death threats to the same Facebook account against U.S. President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk, more screenshots in the complaint show. Neumeyer departed the U.S. for Canada sometime in February and traveled to Israel on or around May 19, the FBI alleged.

Deported to the U.S., Neumeyer was arrested on arrival at the John F. Kennedy International Airport and charged in New York with “attempting to destroy, by means of fire or explosive, the Branch Office of the United States Embassy located in Tel Aviv, Israel,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

If convicted, Neumeyer could spend between five and 20 years in prison and pay a $250,000 fine, according to the DOJ.

“The defendant is charged with attempting to firebomb the U.S. Embassy and making threats to President Trump,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This despicable and violent behavior will not be tolerated at home or abroad, and the FBI, working with our partners, will bring him to face justice for his dangerous actions.”

“The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law,” said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

Neumeyer’s charges were announced three days after Chicago-born University of Illinois graduate and socialist activist Elias Rodriguez, 31, was charged May 22 with murdering two Israeli embassy staff members at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. on May 21. Bondi called the crime “brutal, anti-Semitic violence” and vowed the severest punishment for Rodriguez if he were found guilty of killing diplomats Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim—both of whom were reportedly preparing to be engaged in Jerusalem.

“I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,” Rodriguez later told police before shouting “Free Palestine,” the FBI alleged. The suspect allegedly had thrown the gun away after the shooting, but police recovered it.