Christopher Brown of Long Island sentenced to 10 years for possessing weapon as part of planned attack on NYC's Jewish community

A self-admitted white supremacist from Aquebogue who pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as part of a planned attack on New York City’s Jewish community was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

Christopher Brown, 23, expressed sympathy for Nazi ideology in social media, and in November 2022 posted several posts on Twitter, now known as X, threatening the Jewish community, Bragg said.

"God wants me to shoot up a synagogue and die," one of the posts said.

Brown pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in September. According to court documents and statements made in court, Brown drew the attention of the NYPD by making threatening statements and expressing sympathy for Brenton Tarrant, who attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.

"Gonna ask a Priest if I should become a husband or shoot up a synagogue and die," Brown said in one post.

Brown discussed getting tattoos of Nazi-related images, including a swastika on his heart, in other social media posts, Bragg said. The district attorney also said Brown was a proponent of "accelerationism," which calls for white supremacists to commit acts of racial violence to speed up societal collapse.

Brown’s attorney, Arthur Mendola of Legal Aid, could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

The NYPD arrested Brown in November 2022 as he entered Penn Station, according to the court records. The NYPD said they recovered an 8-inch military knife and a swastika armband at the time of Brown's arrest. An illegal Glock 17 firearm and a 30-round magazine were recovered from the Manhattan apartment of his co-defendant, Matthew Mahrer.

The case against Mahrer is pending, Bragg said.

Brown was charged in November 2022 with making a terroristic threat, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and other weapons charges, according to court documents.

"Christopher Brown was sentenced to 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," Bragg said in a statement. "I know that the Jewish community in Manhattan is continuing to face rising antisemitism and violent threats, and I want everyone to know that we are using every tool possible in coordination with our law enforcement partners to keep them safe."