WASHINGTON, March 18 - Federal authorities have charged Wyatt James Brzoska, 20, with threatening a mosque in Ohio and with unlawfully possessing firearms while using a controlled substance, according to a criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
The complaint alleges Brzoska made a series of posts on the social media platform TikTok that contained references to mass shootings and extremist symbols, including the so-called "black sun," a symbol associated with neo-Nazi movements. Prosecutors say the content of those posts and a specific March 10 video prompted the charges.
In the March 10 video cited in the complaint, Brzoska is said to have pointed the camera toward a mosque in Ohio while on-screen text read: "You will feel it." The filing also notes an earlier late-November post that contained references to the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand mosque shootings carried out by a white supremacist that resulted in 51 deaths. The complaint states the posts showed a desire to emulate Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch attacker.
The FBI first received a tip about Brzoska in mid-November. At that initial interview, the complaint records that Brzoska told agents the threats were a joke. Following the late-November post referencing Christchurch, the FBI conducted another interview in which Brzoska admitted to owning an AR-15 rifle, two shotguns and a Springfield bolt-action rifle, according to the complaint.
Brzoska now faces federal counts alleging interstate threats as well as unlawful possession of firearms while using a controlled substance. The complaint was filed in the Northern District of Ohio federal court.
The filing also situates the case amid broader concerns raised by U.S. civil rights advocates about increases in Islamophobia and antisemitism in recent years, noting those concerns have been linked in part to rising anti-immigration sentiment and white supremacist rhetoric, as well as the fallout from Israel's war in Gaza after the 2023 Hamas attack.
Local reporting had disclosed the charges earlier on Wednesday. Brzoska's representative could not be reached immediately for comment, the complaint notes.
Context and case status
The criminal complaint provides the factual basis for the federal charges but does not by itself determine guilt. The filing documents the social media posts, the timeline of FBI contacts beginning in mid-November, the admissions regarding firearm ownership and the specific March 10 video targeted at a mosque in Ohio.
As the matter proceeds through federal court, prosecutors will rely on the complaint and investigative records to argue the case; the complaint asserts both the interstate-threats and unlawful-possession counts.