Florida Man Accused of Plotting Mass Shooting Targeting Jewish Victims, Federal Officials Say
A Florida man is facing federal charges after prosecutors said he armed himself with a rifle and tried to carry out a mass shooting targeting Jewish victims at an organization tied to support for Israel.
Forrest Kendall Pemberton, 27, of Gainesville, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida on hate crime and firearm charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal officials said Pemberton allegedly traveled to the office of a nonprofit organization that lobbies the U.S. government in support of Israel. Prosecutors allege he intended to target employees of the organization because they were Jewish.
According to court records cited by the Justice Department, Pemberton was armed with an AR-15-style rifle equipped with a silencer when he traveled to the location on December 23, 2024. Authorities said the alleged plan was not random, but driven by race and religion.
The case was announced on June 18, 2026, by officials with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the FBI Jacksonville Field Office.
Pemberton is charged with attempted hate crime, using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a short-barreled rifle. If convicted, he could face life in prison on the attempted hate crime count, a mandatory consecutive sentence of up to 30 years on the firearm charge, and up to five years on the possession count.
The FBI Jacksonville Field Office is investigating the case, with assistance from the FBI Miami Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Miami Field Office, the Gainesville Police Department, and the Tallahassee Police Department.
Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of Florida and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are handling the case.
The Justice Department stressed that an indictment is not a conviction. Pemberton is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
Why It Matters
The case lands at a time when concerns about antisemitic threats and politically charged violence remain high across the United States. Places connected to Jewish life, Israeli advocacy, or public religious identity have faced growing security concerns in recent years, making any alleged plot involving a firearm and a targeted group especially alarming.
What makes this case stand out is the accusation that the alleged target was chosen because of Jewish identity. Federal hate crime law treats that motive seriously because the harm is not limited to the immediate victims. Prosecutors often argue that hate crimes are designed to send fear through an entire community.
For employees, families, and religious communities, cases like this raise a painful question: how safe are people when ordinary offices, schools, synagogues, or community spaces become potential targets because of identity or belief?
The indictment also shows how firearm charges can become central in federal civil rights cases. Prosecutors are not only alleging a hate-based motive, but also that a weapon was carried during what they describe as an attempted act of violence.
Authorities have not said in the release exactly how the alleged attack was stopped or what led investigators to Pemberton. Those details may come out later in court filings, hearings, or trial proceedings.
For now, the case moves through the federal system, where prosecutors must prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. The charges are serious, the possible penalties are severe, and the wider message is clear: alleged threats against people because of their religion or race can quickly become a major federal case.
Anyone who believes they have information about a hate crime or civil rights violation can contact federal authorities through the Justice Department’s civil rights reporting portal.
