The Justice Department announced on Sunday that it has indicted a dual US and German citizen for trying to firebomb the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.
This development comes just after a pro-Hamas advocate allegedly gunned down two staffers who worked at the Israeli Embassy in the US.
From the Justice Department:
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a complaint was unsealed charging Joseph Neumeyer, a dual U.S. and German citizen, with attempting to destroy, by means of fire or explosive, the Branch Office of the United States Embassy located in Tel Aviv, Israel. Neumeyer was deported by Israel to the Eastern District of New York on May 24, 2025 and made his initial court appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. Neumeyer was ordered detained pending trial.
United States Attorney General Pamela Bondi; Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; and Steven J. Jensen, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office (FBI), announced the arrest and charge.
“This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans, and President Trump’s life,” stated Attorney General Bondi. “The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”
The Justice Department thanks our Israeli law enforcement partners, whose actions ensured that no lives were lost.
“As alleged, Neumeyer, armed with potentially lethal devices, sought to cause chaos and destruction at the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “His arrest and prosecution clearly show that my Office and the Department of Justice will not tolerate violence in our homeland or violence targeting U.S. interests abroad.”
The complaint alleges that Neumeyer wrote a post on Facebook urging people to “join me this afternoon in Tel Aviv we are burning down the US. embassy” and to “join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America. Death to Americans and f — k the west.”
The suspect allegedly approached the facility wearing a backpack and spat on an Embassy guard. Neumeyer shouted profanities at the guard and ran away when they attempted to apprehend him. He left his backpack behind. The authorities found several Molotov cocktails in the bag, according to the DOJ’s press release.
Law enforcement later located Neumeyer in a hotel and arrested him. It was revealed that he also posted messages on social media calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump.
In a post on X, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a statement saying that the suspect’s “hateful speech turned into violent action” and that “Attacks that target Americans will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
An American citizen has been arrested for attempting to firebomb the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv.
— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) May 25, 2025
⁰My official statement below: https://t.co/U77Kn6DBjr pic.twitter.com/Q5AtV73GUu
Since the war in Gaza began in 2023, there has been an alarming rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States. Pro-Hamas agitators have targeted Jewish people during demonstrations and on college campuses.
The situation took a darker turn when Elias Rodriguez allegedly gunned down Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on Wednesday evening.
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