A federal grand jury in Florida has returned an indictment against a Gainesville resident for allegedly planning a mass shooting aimed at Jewish individuals last year, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday, according to local media.
The US Department of Justice secured the indictment in the Southern District of Florida against 27-year-old Forrest Kendall Pemberton. He faces federal hate crime and firearm charges stemming from an incident where investigators say he armed himself with a suppressed AR-15 rifle and staked out an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) office in Plantation, Florida.
According to prosecutors, Pemberton specifically chose his target to execute a mass casualty event against the lobbying group’s personnel because they were Jewish. The hate crime charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, while the two accompanying weapons violations could tack on an additional 35 years behind bars if he is convicted.
The plot was uncovered after Pemberton’s relatives contacted law enforcement to report him missing. Family members alertly provided authorities with a highly alarming letter alongside a history of digital searches indicating he intended to perpetrate a violent crime at the AIPAC facility. Following a multi-agency tracking effort, police apprehended Pemberton in Tallahassee.
Federal court records show that no upcoming judicial hearings have been scheduled for the defendant at this time.
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