Michigan man charged with threatening synagogue massacre

DETROIT (AP) — Federal officials say a Michigan man threatened to commit a mass killing at a synagogue on the fifth anniversary of the massacre at two New Zealand mosques by a white supremacist gunman. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 19-year-old Seann Patrick Pietila of Pickford, Michigan, was arrested Friday and charged with transmitting a communication containing a threat to injure another. The Detroit News reports he allegedly made social media threats that included comments about neo-Nazi ideology, antisemitism and glorifying mass shootings. A criminal complaint states FBI agents who searched his home found makeshift plans for killing members of the Shaarey Zedek congregation in East Lansing on March 15, 2024.