The 28-year-old charged with attempting to firebomb a U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv was born in Colorado, according to a complaint filed Sunday in the U.S. District Court.
Joseph Neumeyer, who has dual United States and German citizenship, was apprehended in Israel and flown to the United States on Sunday. He was charged with attempting to destroy, by means of fire or explosive, a U.S. embassy office in Tel Aviv, the complaint said. Neumeyer had been in Israel since April and on May 19 wrote on social media about plans to burn down the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.
Later that day, Neumeyer allegedly spat on a security guard outside the embassy and cursed at him. The guard grabbed Neumeyer’s backpack in an attempt to capture him but Neumeyer slipped out of the backpack and fled, according to the criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York.
The guard opened the backpack and found three Molotov cocktails filled with ethanol, the complaint said.
Neumeyer was tracked to a hotel about five blocks from the embassy by Israeli police and detained. He admitted to Israeli police that he spit on the guard and was carrying three Molotov cocktails made of vodka, the complaint said. Neumeyer was flown back to the United States on Sunday.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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