Edward Arthur Owens Jr., Antisemitic Threat, Pennsylvania 2025

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, is facing severe consequences for his heinous crime. Edward Arthur Owens Jr., 30, pleaded guilty to making a threat to injure a local public official and making false statements to government agents, First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

In a shocking display of hatred, Owens knowingly and willfully transmitted via a social media messaging app the following threat to injure a local public official: “We’re coming for you [emoji of person raising right hand] [German flag emoji] be afraid. Go back to Israel or better yet, exterminate yourself and save us the trouble. 109 countries for a reason. We will not stop until your kind is nonexistent.” The Court was advised that the reference to “109 countries” is an antisemitic assertion that Jews have been expelled from 109 different countries; it is used by antisemites to call for the expulsion of Jews from other countries and otherwise to promote hatred.

The recipient of the message is a local official who regularly engages with the public. The Court was further advised that, on or about May 30, 2025, Owens made false statements to special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, telling the agents that his firearms—which included a .22 LR caliber rifle, an AR-15 style rifle, and a 9mm caliber Smith & Wesson pistol—were all in the custody of his mother, that he did not know where the firearms were, and that he did not have access to any of them. Those statements were false in that Owens did, in fact, know that his 9mm caliber Smith & Wesson pistol was still in his custody and control (located inside of the vehicle Owens drove immediately prior to making his false statements to the FBI agents), that he still had access to this pistol, and that the pistol was not in his mother’s custody.

First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced the guilty plea, stating that Owens’s actions demonstrate a disturbing level of hatred and disregard for the law. Owens’s plea deal will undoubtedly bring a measure of closure to the victim and the community.

Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Owens.

Edward Arthur Owens Jr. is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13, 2026. The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both per count. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Pending sentencing, the Court ordered that Owens remain detained.

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