'Death to America!' Man Tries to Bomb US Embassy in Israel, Threatens to Assassinate Trump

Washington: A US-German man has been charged with trying to firebomb a branch office of the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. Joseph Neumeyer, 28, from Colorado was arrested after he approached the office with Molotov cocktails last week and threatened to assassinate US President Donald Trump in a series of social media posts.

Who is Joseph Neumeyer?

As per federal prosecutors, Neumeyer has a dual citizenship of the United States and Germany. A criminal complaint filed against him revealed he began making violent and disturbing posts on social media about two months ago. Neumeyer left the United States in February and arrived in Israel on April 23.

One social media post of him from March reads, "We are killing Trump and Musk now," in an apparent threat to assassinate the US president and tech billionaire Elon Musk. He had also wished “death to America and the West.”

Last week, on May 19, he posted on Facebook, “Join me this afternoon in Tel Aviv — we are burning down the US embassy.”

That afternoon, Neumeyer appeared outside the US Embassy office in Tel Aviv with a backpack and allegedly tried to launch an attack. There he approached a security guard and spat on him to escape detention.

Neumeyer escaped at the time, but Israeli authorities later arrested him from a hotel. The suspect admitted to his backpack having Molotov cocktail bottles with vodka inside.  

Following his arrest, Neumeyer was deported from Israel to the US on Saturday. A day later, he appeared before the Federal District Court in Brooklyn before Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. Neumeyer now faces up to 20 years in prison. 

Also Read: 2 Israel Embassy Staff Killed in Washington, Suspect Shouted ‘Free Palestine’