(Tribune News Service) — A Marine veteran from New Jersey has been arrested for threatening in violent social media screeds to slaughter “as many” white people as possible, federal prosecutors announced.
Joshua Cobb of Trenton, who is Black, is facing one count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce, according to a statement issued Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. During an interview with the FBI last month, 23-year-old Cobb allegedly confessed to penning a series of online posts that discussed his interest in serial killers and his intent to “cause mayhem on the white community.”
“The reason i specifically want to target white people is because as a black male, they will NEVER understand my struggles. Same way I will never understand their struggles, but I don’t care to. I want to erase them. All of them really, but in this case as many as I possibly can,” a post from December 2022 reads.
“As of today I have officially began planning my attack,” it continued. “It is going to take place in 2023 in the state of New Jersey, I have not chosen a exact date but I am going to be sure it is close to an important holiday to their race.”
Cobb added that he had purchased four firearms to carry out the violence, and that he planned on buying more. He also discussed his potential targets with authorities, specifically a Jersey Strong gym and an Aldi grocery store in Robbinsville, N.J.
He also allegedly wrote about how he dreams of becoming a serial killer.
In another post, he wrote: “There is no way out for me. The only way out is bloodshed.”
Cobb’s first post in December 2022 came months before he enlisted with the Marines last year, according to the criminal complaint. He attended basic training in South Carolina from June to October 2023 and was stationed at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif, in February
He was discharged on or around May 10, the complaint indicated.
During a court appearance on Monday, Cobb was ordered to remain in detention pending his bail hearing on Friday. If convicted he faces five years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.
No attack was ever carried out.
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(Mykal McEldowney, IndyStar/TNS)
