Florida Man Indicted Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Mass Shooting Plot

A federal grand jury in Florida has indicted 27-year-old Forrest Kendall Pemberton of Gainesville on hate-crime and weapons charges after prosecutors said he planned a mass shooting targeting Jews.

According to the court, Pemberton armed himself with an AR-15 rifle fitted with a suppressor and drove to the offices of a Jewish organization that works with the U.S. government to promote support for Israel. The indictment says that on December 23, 2024, he tried to carry out a mass shooting against the organization’s employees because they were Jewish.

Pemberton is charged with attempting to commit a hate crime, using and carrying a weapon during a violent crime, and possessing a short-barreled rifle. If convicted, he could face life in prison for the attempted hate crime, up to 30 years in mandatory consecutive sentences for the weapons offense, and up to five years for the rifle possession charge.