Utah Man, 22, Federally Indicted: Charged With Attempted Hate Crime and Threatening to Blow Up a Synagogue; Six Pipe Bombs Found at His Home
A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City has indicted Skyler AJ Rose, 22, of Ogden, Utah, on multiple federal charges including possession of an unregistered destructive device, threatening to kill and injure persons and to destroy a building with an explosive, and attempting to commit a hate crime, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 22. The case stems from online threats made in December 2025 relating to a Utah synagogue. (GSM, via a U.S. Department of Justice release)
Rose was indicted on October 21. His initial appearance is scheduled for October 23 at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 at the Orrin G. Hatch U.S. Courthouse in Salt Lake City.
According to allegations in court documents, on December 23, 2025, a user on a social media platform, later identified as Rose, made multiple threatening posts, one of which said, "I wanna blow up a synagogue." The investigation revealed the posts were made from an IP address tracing back to the home where Rose resided. The FBI contacted the Ogden City Police Department to assist with visiting the home and confirmed the social media handle belonged to Rose. During an executed search warrant, law enforcement recovered six improvised explosive pipe bombs and one inert device, explosive precursors and components that could be used to construct further pipe bombs, a black Samsung cellphone, and two rifles with accompanying magazines and ammunition.
As stated in court documents, a subsequent search of Rose's phone revealed that in November 2025 he had searched the internet for a synagogue near him. The investigation further revealed that the phone allegedly contained evidence of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and hundreds of cached images and screenshots depicting CSAM.
"Today's indictment stops in its tracks an alleged plan to carry out a violent attack on a synagogue," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will take decisive action to protect American worshippers from violent threats, no matter where they occur." U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah said: "There is no place for hate-motivated violence - attempts or otherwise - in our communities. A place of worship should be a refuge of safety, not fear." FBI Salt Lake City Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls and Ogden City Police Chief Jake Sube also issued statements in the release.
The case is being investigated jointly by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and the Ogden City Police Department, with assistance from the Utah Department of Public Safety, the Davis County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad, the Weber County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Weber County Attorney's Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John Auchter for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于Salt Lake City的Frank E. Moss联邦法院大楼（资料图）。Tamanoeconomico摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经维基共享资源。Photo: The Frank E. Moss Federal Courthouse in Salt Lake City (file photo). By Tamanoeconomico, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
