Alabama man charged with threatening rabbis, imam and others in multiple Southern states

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged an Alabama man with making threatening calls and texts to multiple rabbis, an imam and others in the South, including telling one rabbi that “I want you to die.”

Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker of Needham, Alabama, was charged with making an Interstate Communications Threat. He was arrested earlier on related state charges of resisting arrest and possession of a pistol by a person forbidden to legally have a handgun.

An FBI agent wrote in court documents that Shoemaker made a series of menacing calls and texts to rabbis in Alabama and Louisiana, an imam in Georgia, a church in North Carolina and others. Multiple firearms were later found in the man’s home, along with a suitcase full of ammunition and papers listing the names, addresses and phone numbers of religious leaders and other prominent figures, authorities said.

The agent wrote that Shoemaker told authorities that the communications were not a threat of actual violence but "an effort to intimidate or engage in psychological warfare.” Court documents also suggest the man has a diagnosed mental illness. His grandmother told the FBI agent that he had refused to take his medication for the illness, the agent wrote. The name of the diagnosis was redacted in public court documents.

An FBI agent’s affidavit filed with federal court documents said that Shoemaker came to the attention of federal authorities after leaving threatening voice messages, including one earlier this month for a rabbi in Mountain Brook, Alabama.

“I want you to die because you want the death of us,” Shoemaker said in one of the calls. "You want the West to die off.”

The agent wrote that Shoemaker sent text messages to an Islamic center in Louisiana in 2024, including one stating that the “jews and you musIimeens have declared war on us again, and we are going to defend ourselves.” Another to a Georgia imam this year said he knew where the imam lived and warned for him to watch his back.

Shoemaker told the FBI agent that he did not intend any violence and the calls and texts were an attempt at intimidation.

“Shoemaker claimed his statements were satire, not a legitimate threat, rebuttal, and mocking them,” the agent wrote.

A search of Shoemaker's home found multiple firearms, a body armor carrier, and numerous boxes of ammunition.

Needham is a small town in southwest Alabama located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Mississippi-Alabama border. Shoemaker is being held in the Choctaw County Jail.

Sara Jones, FBI special agent in charge, said multiple law enforcement agencies acted “within hours of learning of a threat to a member of the Jewish community.”

“This is a prime example of law enforcement working together to crush violent crime and protect the American people,” Jones said in a statement Friday.

Ernest C. McCorquodale, III, a defense lawyer representing Shoemaker in the state charges, declined to comment when reached earlier this week.

The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that a man was taken into custody by a multi-agency force after the FBI and other law enforcement offices were “notified of credible threats of violence made against multiple synagogues throughout Alabama and surrounding states.” A photo posted by the sheriff's department shows a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun, handgun and piles of ammunition taken from the home.