Pennsylvania Man Arrested in Alleged ISIS Attack Plot, DOJ Says Rifle and 190 Rounds Seized

A 21-year-old Pennsylvania man accused of planning a violent attack for ISIS was arrested after FBI agents followed him to a hotel, where they seized a semiautomatic rifle, five magazines and 190 rounds of ammunition, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Jonathan Hunter Kramer of Valencia allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS, offered to share explosives manuals online and wrote that he was preparing for his “mission.” He reportedly said he still needed a weapon before FBI agents intervened, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Kramer faces a charge of receiving a firearm and ammunition while knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, they would be used to commit a felony or federal terrorism offense. The charge includes allegations involving the provision or attempted provision of material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The FBI first became aware of Kramer during a 2023 investigation, when he was a minor. He was charged and adjudicated delinquent in Pennsylvania for his role in a plan to carry out a mass-casualty attack and for possessing child sexual abuse material, according to the Justice Department.

The renewed investigation began after an anonymous tip was submitted March 19, shortly after Kramer was released from a juvenile detention facility. The tipster reported that Kramer was ordering “mysterious” packages and “talking to his friends from before” his juvenile adjudication.

Investigators said Kramer used the online name “Hamza Al Rashid,” claimed to be affiliated with ISIS and offered to distribute explosives manuals. He allegedly wrote that he was getting ready for his “mission” but lacked a “weapon.”

According to the complaint, FBI agents watched Kramer leave his home Friday with a bag and take a rideshare to a store, where he purchased a disposable phone.

Kramer later met another person in a parking lot, removed a long black bag from the trunk of a vehicle and traveled to a hotel in Cranberry Township. He paid cash for the room. Witnesses at the store and hotel told investigators the bag made a metallic clicking sound when Kramer set it down.

After checking into the hotel, Kramer went to a sporting goods store, where FBI agents observed him at the gun counter.

Agents approached Kramer after he returned to the hotel with two bags from the store. Searches of his person, hotel room and home uncovered a semiautomatic rifle, five rifle magazines—two loaded and three capable of holding 30 rounds each—and 190 rounds of rifle ammunition, the complaint said.

Investigators also recovered a rifle scope and bipod, an entrenchment tool, pepper spray and roughly 30 knives. A handwritten note found by agents stated: “DoNt look For me[.] IDK what I did buT I cant live In constant Fear[.]”

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the arrest occurred as Americans observed the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“Their outstanding work thwarted this alleged attack before innocent lives could be lost,” Blanche said.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Kramer had been “plotting a violent attack in support of ISIS,” citing his online activity and acquisition of weapons.

The Justice Department did not identify a specific target for the alleged attack.

Kramer was booked into the Butler County Jail and made his first court appearance Monday. Prosecutors have asked that he be held without bond, arguing that he poses a danger to the community.