The FBI and local Massachusetts police have arrested Matthew Scouras, a 34-year-old resident of a Boston suburb, following antisemitic threats he posted on social media. Scouras made posts calling for the shooting of worshippers outside synagogues.
He also threatened to assault Jewish women and boasted about possessing large quantities of ammunition and the addresses of Jews in his area. "I have the names and addresses of every f***ing Jew in my neighborhood," Scouras wrote, adding, "I have so much ammo."
The investigation began after the FBI’s National Operations Center received a report and passed the information to local police. Following surveillance, investigators located Scouras at his mother’s apartment in Beverly, Mass., where he was living.
During the raid, authorities found a Nazi flag, a 9mm "ghost" gun with no serial number, three rifles with high-capacity magazines and equipment for homemade firearm manufacturing. They also seized over $70,000 in cash, a cell phone and two desktop computers.
Scouras underwent a psychiatric evaluation and is being held without bail pending a hearing on January 13. He faces 12 charges, including firearm possession without a certificate, unlawful ammunition possession, possession of large-capacity magazines, threats against a religious institution and issuing threatening messages.
According to court documents, Scouras was already known to law enforcement due to a 2013 incident involving Facebook threats. At the time, he allegedly wrote: " I’m gunna [sic] snap and just kill people cus [sic] I can’t handle this anymore."
Beverly Police Chief John LeLacheur said that Scouras' arrest likely prevented a major attack.
“We take any threat to human life extremely seriously, especially when it targets a specific community out of hatred and extreme ideology,” he said.
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Massachusetts' Jewish community has urged authorities to intensify enforcement against similar threats and take stronger measures to prevent hate crimes.