Man accused of anti-Semitic terror attack in 2022 pleads guilty

A man arrested at Penn Station nearly two years ago and charged with attempting to incite a terrorist attack on Jewish synagogues has pleaded guilty and is expected to serve a 10-year prison sentence.

But in a bizarre twist, a second person arrested by MTA police at the same time on November 18, 2022, is said to be a Jewish descendant of Holocaust survivors, and his lawyer insists he had no knowledge of his co-defendant's terrorist writings.

Prosecutors initially charged both men with conspiracy and illegal possession of weapons. But now prosecutors have only stated that charges against the second man “remain open and pending.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has announced the guilty plea of ​​23-year-old Christopher Brown to possessing a firearm as part of a planned terrorist attack on New York's Jewish community. As part of his guilty plea to illegal possession of a firearm during a terrorist crime, he is expected to be sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of probation.

“Christopher Brown was held accountable for his plan to commit a violent, anti-Semitic terrorist attack,” Bragg said. “Fortunately, we were able to intervene and prevent him from carrying out that attack. This is the result of our close collaboration with our local and federal law enforcement partners.”

In his guilty plea, prosecutors said Brown admitted to posting several threatening messages on Twitter. [now known as X] under his username @VrilGod, including “God wants me to raid a synagogue and die,” “I'm going to ask a priest if I should become a husband or raid a synagogue and die,” and “This time I'm really going to do it.”

Even more bizarre is Matthew Mahrer's involvement in the case. According to prosecutors, the man received $650 to buy a loaded gun for Brown in Pennsylvania.

Gilbert Bayonne, Mahrer's lawyer, said his client is Jewish and the grandson and great-grandson of Holocaust survivors. His client has not yet confessed and has not been charged with any terrorist offenses.

“The prosecutor has made it clear that he has no knowledge of, nor does he have any evidence, that proves his involvement in a terrorist attack,” Bayonne told Straus News.

The arrest of Brown and Mahrer made big headlines back in 2022. Eric Goldstein, head of the United Jewish Federation/NYC, had alerted the police to Brown's anti-Semitic postings.

And at the press conference announcing the arrest of the two men, Adams thanked the New York Police Department for “bringing these fanatics to justice.”

In an interview with the Forward, Susan and Michael Mahrer, Matthew Mahrer's parents said their son has learning difficulties, suffers from autism and was homeless at times.

They also spoke of their deep roots in the Jewish community and how painful it was to be ostracized on the Upper West Side, where they have lived for years, because of the resentment generated by coverage of the case. They said Matthew's grandfather, Jerry Mahrer, who was 94 at the time of the interview, was a Holocaust survivor, as was Matthew's great-grandfather, Pavel (Paul) Mahrer, a Czech soccer star who played for the Czechoslovakian team in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Pavel was arrested when the Nazis occupied the country in 1942 and was eventually released as a German prisoner of war. The Museum of Jewish Heritage has a collection of over 100 artifacts related to his story.

“What is bothering Matthew now more than the legal consequences is the shame of tarnishing the family name and history,” Susan said. His father, Michael, added: “He is accused of wanting to hurt people from his own community, both from his physical community, the Upper West Side, and from the Jewish community.” But his father insisted: “He never hurt anyone.”

The official sentencing for Brown is scheduled for November 13.

Bayonne, Matthew's attorney, said his client, who has been free on bail since his arrest, is due back in court on Oct. 23.