Aquebogue man to serve 10 years for plotting NYC synagogue attack

An Aquebogue man who pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon as a crime of terrorism for a planned attack on Manhattan synagogues was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison, authorities said.

When Christopher Brown and another man, Matthew Mahrer, were detained in Penn Station by NYPD officers in the fall of 2022, cops found a large hunting knife, a swastika armband and a ski mask in Mr. Brown’s backpack. Investigators later uncovered a Glock 17 firearm, an extended 30-round magazine and 19 rounds of ammunition from a backpack at Mr. Mahrer’s Manhattan apartment. At the time investigators said Mr. Mahrer purchased the gun in Pennsylvania with $650 Mr. Brown had given him.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg described the sentence as a “significant prison term for arming himself with an illegal firearm as part of his plan to commit an act of terror targeting Manhattan’s Jewish community.”

Mr. Brown, who police said had a history of mental illness, posted threatening message on social media, including “Gonna ask a Priest if I should become a husband or shoot up a synagogue and die,” and “This time I’m really gonna do it.”

He also posted a brief video, according to prosecutors, with a message that read, “Brutally murder people with hatchets and whatnot. How it feels to kill people.”

In an interview, his mother, Kerry Ann Brown, told News 12 Long Island that he has schizophrenia and had recently aged out of a group home.

Ms. Brown said that this was her son’s first arrest and that, “he is protective, not violent,” and that “he does things like that to try to shock people.”