American charged with attempted firebombing of US diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv
New York, New York - A dual US-German citizen was charged in a New York court Sunday on suspicion he tried to firebomb the US' mission in Tel Aviv earlier this week, the Justice Department said.
Joseph Neumeyer was detained in Israel after the attack and deported to the US, where he was arrested on arrival, court documents said.
He was also accused of making assassination threats against President Donald Trump.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said her department would "prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law."
If convicted, Neumeyer faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, with a maximum fine of $250,000, the Justice Department said.
The 28-year-old traveled to Israel last month, according to statements from the DOJ. On May 19, he allegedly posted on his Facebook account an invitation to "join me as I burn down the embassy."
"Death to America, death to Americans, and f*** the west," he is accused of writing, before going to the US diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv, a branch of the US embassy, which was moved to Jerusalem in 2018, despite Israel's illegal annexation of the city's Palestinian quarters.
There, Neumeyer spit on a guard as he walked past the mission, and when the guard attempted to detain him, he broke free and ran off, leaving behind his backpack, the statement from the US attorney's office said.
"Law enforcement recovered from Neumeyer's backpack several bottles that had been turned into improvised incendiary devices, commonly known as 'Molotov cocktails'," it said.
Law enforcement, which confirmed the presence of flammable fluid in the devices, later tracked Neumeyer to his hotel and arrested him.
After being deported to New York on Saturday, he appeared at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn Sunday afternoon, where he was ordered detained pending trial.
Israel's US-sponsored destruction of Gaza has sparked global revulsion and protests against the ongoing assault, which has reached genocidal proportions according to numerous experts.
Cover photo: JACK GUEZ / AFP