Federal agents arrested a Pennsylvania man accused of preparing to carry out a violent ISIS-inspired attack after investigators allegedly discovered a semiautomatic rifle, ammunition and tactical equipment in his possession.
Jonathan Hunter Kramer, 21, of Valencia, was intercepted over the weekend while returning to a hotel with three rifle magazines and five boxes of ammunition, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
“Thanks to the outstanding work of our FBI and Department of Justice, this alleged attack was thwarted before innocent lives could be lost,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
Kramer is charged with receiving a firearm and ammunition while knowing or having reasonable cause to believe they would be used to commit a felony or federal terrorism crime.
The alleged crimes included providing, attempting to provide or conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. A criminal complaint contains allegations, and Kramer is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Investigators said Kramer used the online alias “Hamza Al Rashid,” pledged allegiance to ISIS and claimed an affiliation with the terrorist organization.
Kramer allegedly offered to distribute explosives manuals and told others online that he was preparing for his “mission.” He reportedly said he still needed a “weapon.”
The FBI previously investigated Kramer in 2023, when he was a minor. He was later adjudicated delinquent in Pennsylvania for his involvement in a separate alleged mass-casualty attack plot and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to federal authorities.
Investigators began examining Kramer again after receiving an anonymous tip March 19, shortly after his release from a juvenile detention facility.
The tipster claimed Kramer had been ordering “mysterious” packages and communicating with associates he knew before his juvenile adjudication.
FBI agents watched Kramer leave his home Friday with a bag and travel by rideshare to a store, where he allegedly purchased a disposable cellphone.
Authorities said Kramer later met another person in a parking lot and removed a long black bag from the individual’s vehicle. He then traveled to a hotel in Cranberry Township and paid cash for a room.
Witnesses at the store and hotel reportedly heard metallic noises when Kramer placed the bag on the ground. One hotel guest believed the sound resembled firearm magazines striking one another.
Agents subsequently observed Kramer visit a sporting-goods store and approach its gun counter, according to the complaint. Federal agents confronted him after he returned to the hotel carrying two bags.
Searches of Kramer, his hotel room and his residence allegedly uncovered a DPMS Panther Arms semiautomatic rifle, five magazines and 190 rounds of 5.56-caliber ammunition.
Two magazines were loaded, while three others could hold 30 rounds each. Investigators also reported finding a rifle scope, bipod, entrenchment tool, pepper spray and approximately 30 knives.
Agents recovered a handwritten note stating, “DoNt look For me[.] IDK what I did buT I cant live In constant Fear[.]”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Kramer was allegedly “plotting a violent attack in support of ISIS,” pointing to his online communications and acquisition of a firearm and ammunition.
The Justice Department has not publicly identified an intended location, target or planned date for the alleged attack.
Kramer was booked into the Butler County Jail and appeared in federal court Monday. Prosecutors requested that he remain detained without bond, arguing that his release would endanger the community.
