Synagogue, pipeline were targeted by Ohioans arrested in terror plots, officials say

(CNN)A synagogue and a Georgia pipeline were the targets of two Ohio residents arrested by federal authorities in separate investigations, officials said on Monday.

Authorities said Damon Joseph, 21, planned to kill worshipers inside a Jewish synagogue in Toledo with an assault rifle. In a second case, Elizabeth Lecron, 23, is accused of purchasing bomb-making materials she intended to use to blow up a pipeline.

Both arrests followed monthslong investigations in which clues, such as images of guns or words of support for mass murderers, were posted on social media.

The stark difference in Joseph and Lecron's targets shows the scope of the challenge for investigators, said Justin E. Herdman, US attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

"It's not just one threat. It's across the spectrum," Herdman told CNN in an interview on Monday. "It's not just Islamic or anarchist or animal rights terrorism. It's everything."

Investigators became aware of Joseph after they noticed pictures of knives and firearms on his social media accounts, court records show. FBI agents posing as members of ISIS began a monthslong conversation with Joseph in which he offered his services in creating propaganda videos, court records show.

Joseph would routinely talk online with undercover agents who he thought were members of ISIS, the records show. The conversations ranged from details about his propaganda videos to his beliefs, and he admitted he struggled with the idea of killing but was not afraid to go to prison, since he would be able to recruit fellow inmates. Then in September, the agents asked Joseph if he hated people in America. "Oh yeah, definitely," answered Joseph, according to court records. "The gays the Christians the Catholics the Jews you name it."


https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/10/us/ohio-residents-terror-plots/index.html

Didn't follow the link, but these were two separate plots, where the would-be terrorists didn't know one another, correct?

>THE Ben Reilly< wrote:Didn't follow the link, but these were two separate plots, where the would-be terrorists didn't know one another, correct?

What does that matter?