A man holding dual U.S. and German citizenship has been apprehended after allegedly traveling to Israel to launch a firebomb attack on the U.S. Embassy branch in Tel Aviv, according to officials.
Prosecutors in New York revealed that the individual, named Joseph Neumeyer, attempted to approach the embassy on May 19, armed with a backpack full of Molotov cocktails. However, he was intercepted by a guard, engaged in a scuffle, and then fled the scene, leaving his backpack behind as the guard attempted to stop him.
Authorities subsequently located Neumeyer at a hotel situated a short distance from the embassy, where they placed him under arrest, as detailed in a criminal complaint filed in New York’s Eastern District.
The attack took place against the backdrop of Israel’s war in Gaza, now in its 19th month.
Neumeyer, 28, who is originally from Colorado and has dual U.S. and German citizenship, had traveled from the U.S. to Canada in early February and then arrived in Israel in late April, according to court records. He had made a series of threatening social media posts before attempting the attack, prosecutors said.
Israeli officials deported Neumeyer to New York on Saturday and he had an initial court appearance before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Sunday, the same day his criminal complaint was unsealed.
Neumeyer’s court-appointed attorney Jeff Dahlberg declined to comment.
During his first term, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite Palestinian objections and moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city.
