Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the guilty plea of CHRISTOPHER BROWN, 23, for possessing a firearm as part of a planned terror attack on the New York Jewish community in 2022. BROWN pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree as a Crime of Terrorism. Under the terms of his plea, he is expected to be sentenced on November 13, 2024 to a promised sentence of 10 years in state prison, followed by 5 years post-release supervision. The case against BROWN’S co-defendant MATTHEW MAHRER remains open and pending. [1]

“Christopher Brown has been held accountable for his plan to commit a violent, antisemitic terrorist attack.” said District Attorney Bragg. “Thankfully, we were able to intervene and prevent him from following through, which is the result of the close partnership we have with our law enforcement partners on the local and federal level. I want Manhattan’s Jewish community to know that we are remaining extremely vigilant against threats of violence during this time of rising antisemitism, and our Terrorism and Hate Crimes Units are continuing to conduct proactive investigations to keep everyone safe.”

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, BROWN used social media to express support for Nazi ideology and accelerationism, a form of racially and ethnically motivated extremism. In one instance, BROWN discussed getting tattoos of Nazi insignia, including a swastika on his heart. He also expressed support for and a desire to emulate Brenton Tarrant, who attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019. 

As admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, between November 12, 2022, and November 18, 2022, BROWN published several threatening Twitter posts under his username @VrilGod, including “God wants me to shoot up a synagogue and die,” “Gonna ask a Priest if I should become a husband or shoot up a synagogue and die,” and ‘This time I’m really gonna do it.”

In furtherance of this plot, BROWN paid MAHRER $650 to obtain a loaded firearm in Pennsylvania.

BROWN was arrested at Penn Station on November 18, 2022. MTA police recovered a knife, a Swastika armband and a ski mask from BROWN’s backpack.

Assistant D.A.s Edward Burns (Senior Investigative Counsel) and Bonnie Seok are handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A. David Stuart (Chief of the Counterterrorism Unit), Judy Salwen (Principal Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau), Jodie Kane (Chief of the Rackets Bureau and Chief of the Investigation Division). The prosecution was initiated in partnership with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau. In addition, Ryan Rittenberg (Director of Intelligence and Analysis for Counterterrorism), Tal Porat (Senior Counterterrorism Unit Analyst), Trial Preparation Assistant Elena Christenfeld, Catherine Schreck (former Senior Counterterrorism Unit Analyst), Christine McNeil (former Counterterrorism Unit Analyst), former Trial Preparation Assistant Tyler Lopez, Steven Moran (High Technology Analyst Unit Director), and Douglas Daus (Supervising Computer Forensic Analyst) assisted with the case.

D.A. Bragg thanked Detective Richard Schneider and Lieutenant David Cuce of the NYPD Intelligence Bureau; Officers Ryan Fackner and Connor Calasurdo of the MTA Police; Detective Jeronnie Glanville of the Joint Terrorism Task Force; and Special Agent Nathan Rudnick of the FBI.

Defendant Information:
CHRISTOPHER BROWN
Aquebogue, NY

Convicted:

• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree as a Crime of Terrorism, a class B felony, one count

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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.