Kevin Charles Pyles, a 33-year-old Glendale, Ariz., man who previously pleaded guilty in state court to making terrorism-related threats targeting the Jewish community, has now been federally charged with a hate crime for allegedly defacing a Phoenix synagogue.
A federal grand jury in Phoenix on Tuesday indicted Pyles on one count of intentional defacement of religious property, alleging that he posted an antisemitic flier on the front door of Sha’arei Shalom Congregation, an Orthodox synagogue in north Phoenix, on July 11, 2025.
Pyles previously pleaded guilty in Maricopa County Superior Court to attempted making and communicating a terrorism threat stemming from online threats directed at the Jewish community and Sha’arei Shalom, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
According to previously unsealed federal court filings, the FBI opened an investigation after receiving a tip on Aug. 11, 2025, about an X account allegedly posting violent antisemitic threats.
Among the posts cited in court records were: “4th Reich is here Jews! I got my MP40,” which Pyles later told investigators “was to scare Israel,” and, “I am Hitler. Start (fire emoji) down synagogues and BlackRock financial buildings. Just look them up and take them out if you’re near one. I’d do it. It’s worth the jail time for me.” He similarly told authorities the latter post was intended as a “scare tactic towards Israel.”
In other posts, he allegedly wrote, “Start attacking synagogues. I’m planning on it,” and “Put propane cans by the synagogues and hit them far with a rifle. It’s time to strike the Jews.”
Court filings also describe an Aug. 10, 2025, video posted to the account with the caption, “F*** Israel. F*** anything Jewish. I’m buying Jewish stuff and smashing it as a hobby now.” Investigators said the video appeared to show a white male in the driver’s seat of a car parked near the driveway of the Sha’arei Shalom.
“The individual, seeing the synagogue’s camera, displayed a drinking glass to the camera that had the word ‘Passover’ on it,” the court filing stated, adding that he appeared to throw the glass onto the driveway and said “F*** the Jews” before driving away.
The FBI said synagogue surveillance footage also captured Pyles placing an antisemitic flier on the synagogue’s front door on July 11, 2025. The flier attacked the Jewish practice of circumcision, stating, “Don’t hate the fliers, hate the baby penises vampires.”
According to the FBI, a synagogue board member said that congregants began attending services less frequently following the flier and the glass-throwing incident in August.
If convicted, Pyles faces up to one year in prison, a $100,000 fine or both.
