Examples of prejudice against specific religious, racial, and ethnic groups, among others, are aplenty in human history. Anti-Semitism is one such form of intolerance that has managed to persist. A US man and his girlfriend took this ongoing bias to a new level: while he threatened to kill three Jewish rabbis, his girlfriend drew a gun on an FBI agent arresting him for the offense.
Christopher Stephen Brown, 37, and Rebekah Jones, 28, (both from Amarillo, Texas) were arrested on Wednesday. While Brown was slapped with charges of interstate threatening communications, Jones was charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon during the arrest. Brown had threatened to execute three rabbis from the Chabad Lubavitch, a Jewish organization that maintains over 3,500 institutions worldwide.
"Mr. Brown's anti-Semitic statements were both disgusting and unlawful. The First Amendment may guarantee the right to make hateful remarks, but it does not allow for specific threats of violence against individuals. The circumstances of the defendant's arrest only reinforce our belief that Mr. Brown poses a serious threat to the community," said US Attorney Chad Meacham, in a statement.
Threats of Violence and Death
According to the complaint, Brown reportedly contacted Chabad Lubavitch on 2 December 2021. In a message that was sent through their website, the Armillo resident supposedly threatened to kill members of the court of Jewish law known as Beth-Din. In the message—that clamored for the killing of all Jews—Brown attached a link to a video on his YouTube channel.
Going by the name 'Madrikh Obidiah' on the page, he declared that the chairman and vice-chairman of Chabad Lubavitch, and the son of the organization's founder, must die. Only two days later, on 4 December, Brown contacted the headquarters of Chabad Lubavitch in New York via phone and purportedly left two voice mails.
In the message, he is said to have stated that Madrikh Obidiah would "tear out" the rabbis' eyes and tongues and that he would kill every rabbi he could find. However, his threats did not end there. He called the headquarters again the following day and threatened to blow the heads of the leaders off.
Resisting Arrest, Threatening Officers
A few days later, on 8 December, law enforcement officials arrived at Brown's apartment to take him into custody. Along with activating their emergency light, the officers used a PA system to ask Brown to exit his residence. He answered the door around one minute later. However, he refused to heed the commands that were issued by the agents. Ultimately, they were forced to enter the apartment and grab Brown.
He resisted as the arresting officers tried to place him in handcuffs. Nonetheless, the resistance was set to get compounded. As Brown and the agents struggled, his girlfriend, Jones, locked arms with him and attempted to pull him into their bedroom. Unexpectedly, she drew a gun at an FBI agent. Luckily, the agent managed to grab the weapon and tried to point it in a safe direction.
Eventually, after wrestling with the pair, the agent successfully seized the gun and flung it on the floor. The couple was overpowered without any injury. If convicted, the duo faces long terms in federal prison. While Brown faces up to five years imprisonment, Jones faces up to 20 years in prison.
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