Columbus, OH – A Columbus man is charged with making terroristic threats after antisemitic statements and photos were found posted by him on social media.
Court documents say Thomas Monroe Develin, 24, posted photos of himself posing with a semi-automatic handgun while he was working as a private security guard for Columbus Torah Academy in east Columbus. The posts were found on the social media platform, Discord.
According to the court documents, Develin also posted statements that said, “I’m at a Jewish school and about to make it everyone’s problem,” and, “The playground is about to turn into a self-defense situation.”
Develin is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge Friday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court.
JewishColumbus later released a statement, calling the incident a “cowardly act of intimidation,” and saying it is working in close contact with law enforcement as the investigation continues.
“For far too long Jews have been mentally and physically intimidated in spaces online, at schools, universities and in our community,” the statement reads in part “Virulent antisemitic rhetoric breeds extremism and has no place in our community.”
“We are a proud and diverse Jewish community,” it goes on to say. “We stand resolute against antisemitism and remain committed to safeguarding our institutions. It is our right to live peacefully as Jews and we will not cower to intimidation. Our Jewish community is here to stay and we will not be silenced.”
The Columbus Torah Academy also released a statement to 10TV, saying immediate actions were taken to identify the source of the threat and that there is currently no risk to the campus.
Security will be provided by the Columbus Division of Police on Friday, Columbus Torah Academy officials added.
