Butler County man claiming ISIS affiliation arrested on terror-related charges

A Butler man who claims to be affiliated with the terror group ISIS has been arrested.

Jonathan Hunter Kramer, 21, was charged in a federal complaint with “receiving a firearm and ammunition, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the firearm and ammunition would be used to commit a felony or a Federal crime of terrorism, including providing, attempting to provide, and conspiring to provide material support or resources to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” according to the United States Attorney Office, Western District of Pennsylvania.

The charges were announced Sept. 15 by U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti.

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According to the affidavit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kramer has been known to the FBI since 2023, when it received a tip about a person using the online platform display name “Nikolas Cruz,” and screenname “@ShootIntoACrowd,” and who had posted threatening statements alluding to a violent act to occur within three months, and documents showing how to make explosives, C4 and car bombs.

Law enforcement officers identified Kramer as behind the Cruz account.

During their 2023 investigation, FBI agents found that Kramer communicated with a 14-year-old German juvenile on the social media platform Discord. The juvenile sent Kramer sexually explicit material of himself, including video and images.

When the FBI executed a search warrant at Kramer’s residence, where he lived with his parents, they found a recording of him pledging allegiance to then ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

The matter was eventually adjudicated, and Kramer was sent to Pathways Adolescent Center in Oil City, Pennsylvania. He was released in March 2026.

According to an anonymous tip, following his release, Kramer’s parents provided him with unmonitored internet access and a cell phone. Kramer, the tipster said, ordered “mysterious” packages and was talking to his “friends from before” the time of his 2023 arrest.

Law enforcement reviewed various online accounts of Kramer’s under different aliases and found that he reposted ISIS material and Hamas propaganda.

He also purchased a knife and pepper spray from Amazon.

The FBI confirmed that Kramer had used the alias “Hamza Al Rashid” online, claimed an affiliation with ISIS and offered to share explosive manuals with others. He also said he was preparing for a “mission” and only needed a “weapon.”

Using the name “Rashid,” Kramer allegedly posted a document that contained a section called “Jihad.” In it, various attack options were outlined, including fire, firearms, poison and vehicles, among others.

On May 20, 2026, using the Rashid name, Kramer posted: “I might be able to carry out an operation soon against the kuffar [infidels], please pray for my success brothers.”

Several days later, again as Rashid, Kramer wrote that he was “trying to find ways to synthesize ricin, or cyanide, or some other deadly chemical,” with the intention of injecting it into food at grocery stores or food events, “preferably synagogues.”

Communicating with someone identified as an FBI “confidential human source,” Kramer said he intended to buy firearms and wrote of an “attack plan against a crowd.”

On Sept. 12, FBI agents observed Kramer leaving his home carrying a bag, traveling to a Walmart by a rideshare serve, and buying a disposable phone. He met a second individual in the store’s parking lot, where he acquired a long black bag “that could have accommodated a rifle” from the trunk of a vehicle before traveling to a hotel in Cranberry Township, according to the FBI.

After checking into his room, Kramer traveled to Dunham Sports and was observed by the FBI at the gun counter.

When he returned to the hotel, FBI agents said they approached Kramer in the hotel’s parking lot. After executing a search warrant, agents seized a semiautomatic rifle, five rifle magazines — including two that were loaded — a rifle bipod and scope, a total of 190 rounds of rifle ammunition, an entrenchment tool, prayer rug, pepper spray and approximately 30 knives, along with a handwritten note stating “DoNt look For me[.] IDK what I did buT I cant live In constant Fear[.]”

The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said in a statement that it is grateful to the FBI and law enforcement partners for their work.

“This case shows exactly why our partnership with federal, state and local law enforcement matters every day,” said Shawn Brokos, the Federation’s director of community security. “It is also a powerful reminder that the voice of a concerned citizen reporting suspicions to law enforcement can save lives.”

The United States has requested detention of the defendant and that he be held without bond pending trial. Kramer waived a detention hearing during his initial court appearance on Sept. 14.

He appeared in federal court on Sept. 16 and waived his preliminary hearing. A date for his next court appearance has not been set. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.