Chicago man accused of synagogue threat released on bond despite objections

A Chicago man accused of threatening to “shoot up a synagogue,” targeting an Israeli official and flying to the state where the official’s family lived, has been released on bond despite federal prosecutors seeking to keep him detained, officials said.

Timothy Holmes, 31, of Chicago, was arrested Wednesday morning in Florida and is charged with making a threat in interstate commerce to injure a person, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

The charges stem from a March 3 incident where Holmes allegedly publicly posted on X, “I’m going to shoot up a synagogue,” according to a criminal complaint.

The post was made in reply to a post from the Israeli government’s official X account, concerning the death of Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei in Iran.

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The FBI National Threat Operation Section received information about the threat, which Holmes is accused of making using his X account, according to the complaint.

During the investigation, FBI agents said they found additional threatening communications from Holmes’ account in March, including a series of derisive posts concerning Jewish people.

Several of the highly disturbing posts echoed radical slogans, including, “From the river to the sea every Jew will die,” “The jew will be destroyed and discarded,” and “You inbred people will all die.”

Holmes also allegedly posted the purported Florida address of relatives of an Israeli government official in an apparent doxxing attempt, and flew to the state days later, prosecutors said.

After asking for the family’s address, Holmes allegedly posted, “Flying to Florida this week. Just out of curiosity.”

Holmes’s defense counsel claimed he only flew to the state to care for a relative, according to court documents.

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U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros said his office is using all available legal tools to combat criminal conduct “that rears its head in hateful anti-Semitism.”

“This Administration has made clear that threats and violence against the Jewish community will not be tolerated,” Boutros said. “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, we will find, prosecute, and hold accountable the perpetrators of unlawful anti-Semitic threats and violence.”

Douglas DePodesta, special agent-in-charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office, added the FBI works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year to “swiftly detect and disrupt threats of violence across the country.”

“Anti-Semitic speech and threats against the Jewish community are reprehensible, and our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners remain committed to holding accountable those seeking to intimidate or harm,” DePodesta said. “Public tips are key in our shared effort of keeping Chicago safe. The public is encouraged to report any suspicious or threatening behavior immediately by calling 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or online at tips.fbi.gov.”

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Over the government’s objection, Holmes was ordered released on a $100,000 bond subject to various conditions, including not possessing a gun or dangerous weapon, not contacting victims or witnesses in the case, not accessing social media or chat-based platforms, allowing the U.S. District Court to install GPS monitoring and access his electronic devices to confirm compliance with the conditions, and limiting his travel to the Northern District of Illinois and the Middle District of Florida.

Holmes will appear in federal court in Chicago on a date to be scheduled.

His X account has been suspended for violating the platform’s rules, according to a review by Fox News Digital.