B’chasdei Hashem, a potentially devastating tragedy was averted after federal authorities arrested a 22-year-old soldier stationed at Fort Polk who explicitly threatened to carry out a massacre against Jews in a shul.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana, the suspect, identified as Jakob Marcoulier, was apprehended and charged by criminal complaint on April 23. He faces federal charges for transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

The chilling plot was uncovered by the FBI, who obtained recorded audio of Marcoulier from the messaging platform Discord. In the recording, the soldier espoused virulent antisemitism and detailed his horrifying, heavily armed intentions.

The FBI revealed that Marcoulier stated the following in the recording: “After this deployment if the Jews still have reign over our government, I am going to walk into a synagogue with my AK, with a 75-round drum mag, and all of my extra mags, with my level four plates, and my haka helmet that’s three plus, and I am going to kill every single Jew I know inside of that synagogue. And that’s my goal in life.”

Law enforcement acted swiftly upon intercepting the communication to ensure the safety of the Jewish community and prevent the soldier from acting on his stated mission.

If convicted of the charge of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, Marcoulier faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in federal prison. Authorities continue to monitor such threats closely, urging the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious or hateful activities to law enforcement immediately.