A 13-year-old boy has been charged in Ohio after Discord reported him to the FBI in September for planning in detail "to complete a mass shooting at the Temple Israel." The young gentleman, who is referred to only as J.R. because of his age, is accused of "inducing panic and disorderly conduct," according to ABC News.
"Discord's Counter-Extremism analysts proactively detected, removed, and reported this user to the FBI's National Threat Operations Center, which is what led to the user's arrest," said Discord's Vice President of Safety and Trust, John Redgrave. "We have a zero-tolerance policy against hate and violent extremism, and when we see it, we take immediate action. It is a top priority for Discord to ensure a safe experience for our users." From ABC:
The teen has not yet entered a plea. …
The incident happened weeks before the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which has sparked an increase in hate crimes against both Jews and Muslims in the U.S.
Weeks before the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which sparked increasing incidents of antisemitism, online platform Discord tipped off the FBI that a teenager in one of its online spaces had discussed shooting up a Jewish temple in Ohio…
The teen is scheduled to appear in court again on Dec. 20.
