Two arrested after threats to attack NYC synagogue

Mayor Eric Adams said Monday that the threats represented a real threat to the Jewish community in New York City. Police arrested two men at Penn Station early Saturday after threats to shoot up a synagogue appeared on Twitter on Thursday and Friday. A description of two men connected to the threats went out to the police. Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officers spotted the two at Penn Station and arrested them.

Who are these men? Christopher Brown, 21, and Matthew Mahrer, 22, are both charged with weapons possession charges. Brown faces additional charges of making terrorist threats—police said he admitted to running a white supremacist Twitter group and that Mahrer is one of his followers. Brown had a large military-style knife, a ski mask, and a swastika arm patch when he was arrested, according to authorities. A Glock-style pistol with a high-capacity magazine and 17 bullets were seized from Mahrer's apartment building. The Associated Press reached out to the two men’s attorneys Monday but didn’t hear back.

Dig deeper: Read Todd Vician’s report in WORLD Magazine about whether Ukraine has a neo-Nazi problem.