The FBI and local law enforcement arrested two young people this week for allegedly plotting a mass-casualty attack on Congregation Beth Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas. Court documents describe a plan to “kill as many Jews as possible by driving through a congregation at a synagogue.”
Why it matters: The foiled plot adds to a pattern of targeted antisemitic violence threats across the United States and raises questions about online radicalisation among teenagers.
The arrests
Angelina Hicks, 18, of Lexington, North Carolina, was taken into custody on Wednesday after the FBI’s Charlotte Joint Terrorism Task Force received a tip Tuesday evening. She faces felony conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon. A judge set her bond at $10 million.
A 16-year-old was arrested separately in Harris County, Texas, and charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder. Court documents identify two additional co-conspirators by first name only.
How it unfolded
FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau received intelligence that “an individual out of Lexington, North Carolina was planning a mass casualty event at a Jewish Day School near Houston.” The Charlotte and Houston field offices coordinated with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office to arrest Hicks within hours.
Alan Martin, a senior assistant district attorney in Davidson County, said investigators had “some concern that there could be an imminent event” targeting the synagogue, despite court documents referencing a planned date of April 2028.
The response
Congregation Beth Israel and its affiliated school closed Wednesday on guidance from the Houston Police Department. The synagogue, founded in 1854, is among the oldest Jewish congregations west of the Mississippi.
Hicks’s next scheduled court appearance is 13 May. The juvenile suspect’s case will proceed through the Harris County juvenile court system.