A Muslim domestic terrorist was sentenced Wednesday by New York State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro to ten years in state prison on charges of possessing a firearm as part of a planned terror attack on the New York Jewish community in 2022.
Christopher Brown, 23, pleaded guilty on September 18 to one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon as a crime of terrorism, NY District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced. The charge is a Class B felony.
Brown was bearded and wearing a traditional white Islamic taqiyah skullcap when he appeared in court.
The would-be terrorist was arrested at Penn Station on November 18, 2022, along with Matthew Mahrer, with whom he planned to carry out the attack. He also paid Mahrer $650 to buy a loaded firearm in Pennsylvania. During the arrest, MTA police recovered a knife, a Swastika armband and a ski mask from Brown’s backpack.
“Today Christopher Brown was sentenced to a significant prison term for arming himself with an illegal firearm as part of his plan to commit an act of terror targeting Manhattan’s Jewish community,” said Bragg.
“I know that the Jewish community in Manhattan is continuing to face rising antisemitism and violent threats, and I want everyone to know that we are using every tool possible in coordination with our law enforcement partners to keep them safe.”
The attack was thwarted in part due to a tip from the local Community Security Initiative (CSI), a Jewish security agency, which spotted Brown’s posts on Twitter.
In his posts, Brown expressed his support for Nazi ideology and accelerationism, a form of racially and ethnically motivated extremism, according to court documents and statements made on the record in court.
In one instance, Brown discussed getting tattoos of Nazi insignia, including a swastika on his heart. He also expressed support for and a desire to emulate Brenton Tarrant, who attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019, according to court documents.
As part of his guilty plea, Brown admitted that between November 12, 2022, and November 18, 2022 he published several threatening Twitter posts under his username @VrilGod, including “God wants me to shoot up a synagogue and die,” “Gonna ask a Priest if I should become a husband or shoot up a synagogue and die,” and ‘This time I’m really gonna do it.”
“While justice has been served, this case serves as a stark reminder of the persistent threats our community faces,” CSI director Mitch Silber said in a statement following the sentencing.
