FBI Says It Thwarted ISIS-Inspired "Mass Casualty Attack" Planned by Pennsylvania Man

A 21-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested after the FBI says it thwarted a planned "mass casualty attack" carried out in support of ISIS, seizing a rifle, ammunition and dozens of knives when agents took him into custody outside a hotel north of Pittsburgh.

Jonathan Kramer, of Valencia, Pennsylvania, had allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and gone by the name "Hamza Al Rashid" online, according to the Justice Department. Investigators say he claimed affiliation with ISIS, offered to share explosive manuals with others, and said he was preparing for his "mission" and just missing a weapon.

Kramer was arrested outside a hotel in Cranberry Township, about 25 miles north of Pittsburgh. Federal investigators seized a Panther Arms semiautomatic rifle, more than 150 rounds of ammunition, two loaded rifle magazines, a rifle bipod and scope, a prayer rug, pepper spray and dozens of knives during the arrest.

Kramer had been on the FBI's radar since 2023, when Pennsylvania authorities charged him as a juvenile and adjudicated him delinquent for an alleged role in a separate plot to commit a mass casualty incident, as well as for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse material. He's now been charged federally with receiving a firearm with the intent to use it in a felony or act of terrorism.