A federal judge denied bail on Thursday to a Buxton, Maine man accused of posting on Twitter a threat to “kill Jews with my AR-15” during the High Holy days.
Last week, Brian Dennison, 24, was charged with transmitting threatening interstate communication, a federal offence.
Judge John H. Rich III ruled that Dennison was a threat to the community and that he could not be safely released under bail, reported the Bangor Daily News.
During a remote hearing, the judge said that while Dennison does not have a criminal record, one of the reasons he was denying bail was that investigators found 12 magazines loaded with 365 rounds of ammunition for an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle during a search of his apartment and car, although they did not find an AR-15.
Dennison allegedly made the Twitter threats against the Jewish community on September 8, the second day of Rosh Hashanah.
Court documents also stated that Dennison said he was building a pipe bomb.
The suspect was arrested on Saturday and is being held at the Cumberland Jail in Portland, Maine.
The US attorney’s office had requested that Dennison be held without bail, arguing he posed a threat to the community.
Dennison’s lawyer had asked that his client be granted bail, and allowed to return to the apartment above his parents’ garage where he current resides where he would be under house arrest while out on bail.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)