Ryan Thomas Griffin, of Austin, Texas, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly making interstate threats targeting Jews, synagogues and federal employees after the FBI linked him to months of violent, antisemitic posts on the social media platform Gab.
According to an FBI affidavit filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Griffin, 35, allegedly wrote, “I’m just a random nobody in the U.S., and I can pick any synagogue I want and go postal on it.”
The complaint alleges that Griffin also wrote, “Zionist do not have the authority to lecture me on sexual morals or anything else. They’re criminals, and I am going to kill them,” and separately posted that he was “going to attack the U.S. government one way or another.” In another post cited by investigators, Griffin wrote, “I am siding with the terrorists.”
According to the affidavit, Griffin also referred to “ZOG"—an acronym for “Zionist Occupied Government” that the FBI describes as a “derogatory and antisemitic term and hate symbol commonly used by persons sympathetic to white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology, which reflects a belief that Jews control the United States government.”
Investigators said Griffin admitted owning the Gab account and making several of the posts. During an FBI interview, he allegedly expressed antisemitic and white supremacist views, referring to “Zionist k*kes” as responsible for “tearing the United States apart.” According to the affidavit, he told agents he believed “a larger coordinated group of people” would be needed to make a significant impact, as opposed to “lone-actor mass attackers.”
“If you can get even 10 guys to attack ZOG together, it would actually matter,” Griffin allegedly wrote on Gab on Feb. 5. “If I was to go postal wouldn’t it increase Jew security costs dramatically? They think they’re so secure betting on dumb white ‘goyim’ will never do anything.”
He then described what would happen if he attacked. “I’m going to die almost immediately, and it’ll be a footnote for less than two weeks, and then everyone will move on to the next thing,” he wrote. “That’s why I cannot sacrifice my life without doing more damage than that.”
He told the FBI that “he had attempted to contact people online who are interested in taking action, but has not been successful,” and admitted to contacting the Pacific Northwest-based white supremacist group Northwest Front in 2019.
The FBI also said Griffin admitted possessing several firearms, including an AR-15-style rifle, body armor and tactical gear.
