A man in northeastern Ohio was charged with making threats against a mosque and unlawfully possessing firearms while using controlled substances, federal court records showed.
Wyatt James Brzoska, 20, allegedly made a series of TikTok posts that referenced mass shootings and extremist symbols, including the “black sun,” a neo-Nazi symbol, according to a criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
U.S. rights advocates have warned about rising Islamophobia and antisemitism in recent years due to a spike in anti-immigration sentiment and white supremacist rhetoric, as well as the fallout of Israel’s war in Gaza after a 2023 Hamas attack.
The charges were reported earlier on Wednesday by an NBC affiliate. Brzoska’s representative could not immediately be reached for comment.
The FBI first received a tip about Brzoska in mid-November. At the time, Brzoska said “the threats were a joke,” the complaint said.
