A 37-year-old Texas resident was arrested after threatening to murder three Chabad rabbis in a series of threatening messages. When FBI agents arrived to arrest him, his girlfriend who was staying in the apartment aimed a gun at one of the secret agents and was arrested after a fight |
A man from Amerilio in the state of Texas in the United States was arrested after threatening to execute three Chabad rabbis, the Texas District Attorney announced.
In addition to the man, the defendant’s girlfriend, who aimed a gun at federal agents during his arrest, was also charged with a number of criminal charges.
Christopher Stephen Brown, 37, was arrested last Wednesday and charged along with his girlfriend, Rebecca Jones, 28, who was charged with assaulting a police officer with a weapon during the arrest. The two first appeared in federal court before Judge Lee Ann Reno the following Thursday.
“Brown’s antisemitic statements were both disgusting and illegal. The first amendment may guarantee the right to make hateful remarks, but it does not allow for specific threats of violence against people. The circumstances of defendant’s arrest only reinforce our view that Mr. Brown poses a serious threat to the community,” he said. Said U.S. Attorney Chad Macham. “We are committed to protecting all of our citizens – especially those who are often persecuted.”
“Mr. Brown has allegedly expressed intent to commit acts of violence against many entities including private citizens, law enforcement agencies and Jewish rabbis associated with Lubavitch,” said FBI Special Agent in Dallas Matthew J. de Sereno. “Threatening statements are serious criminal activity with consequences, and the FBI and our law enforcement partners will pursue those who pose a threat to the community when those threats are intended to arouse fear and may cause physical harm.”
According to the lawsuit, on December 2, Brown allegedly contacted Chabad, in a message sent through their website, he threatened to murder court members, the message called for the deaths of all Jews, the threat also included a link to a video on Brown’s YouTube channel where He says that “three leaders in Chabad must die.”
Two days later, on December 4, Brown called the Central Chabad headquarters in New York, and according to the prosecution, he left two voicemails stating that he would “tear the eyes and tongues of the rabbis and kill any rabbi he found.” The next day, he called the office again and threatened Blow up the rabbis.
On Dec. 8, law enforcement officers arrived at Brown’s apartment to arrest him. They turned on their emergency lights and used the public address system to order Brown to leave his home. He showed up at the door but repeatedly refused to obey police orders, eventually, officers entered the apartment and apprehended Brown, who resisted handcuffs.
During the fight, his girlfriend Rebecca Jones tried to pull him into the bedroom. She aimed a gun at an FBI agent, who grabbed the gun and tried to point it in a safe direction. While fighting with Brown and also with Jones, the agent eventually managed to release the handgun and flip it to the floor.
If convicted, Brown faces up to 5 years in federal prison. While his girlfriend Rebecca Jones faces up to 20 years in prison.