Arizona Man Charged Over Alleged Plot to Attack a Mosque or Synagogue

The Superior Court of Maricopa County in downtown Phoenix. The terroristic-threat case against Matthew Bjornholt is in Maricopa County Superior Court. Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

CHANDLER, Ariz. — A 27-year-old Chandler man faces a charge of making a terroristic threat. Prosecutors allege he told someone he planned a "mass attack" with bombs and guns on a "Jewish or Muslim location," according to court records reported by 12News. Matthew Bjornholt was arrested on Oct. 16 after the FBI received a tip. He has not been convicted, and his lawyer disputes the allegations.

Prosecutors have not said which house of worship, if any, was the target. AZFamily reported that it remains unclear which Maricopa County sites were allegedly targeted. FOX 10 Phoenix reported that it is also unclear whether an accomplice exists.

What prosecutors allege

On Sept. 29, the FBI received a tip that Bjornholt was allegedly threatening to carry out an attack, according to court records cited by 12News. The person who reported him told authorities that his family believed an attack was "imminent." Bjornholt allegedly told a friend he planned to attack a synagogue or mosque during the next major religious holiday, KJZZ reported. KJZZ also reported that he has suspected ties to white supremacists.

In court, prosecutors alleged that once bombs went off, an accomplice would start "picking off people," AZFamily and FOX 10 Phoenix reported. Prosecutors also said Bjornholt called "The Anarchist Cookbook," a book with instructions for making explosives, his "Bible." Police said they found three firearms and instructions for making explosives when they searched his home, according to KJZZ.

— Lance Leising, former FBI supervisory special agent, to AZFamily, October 18, 2026

Lance Leising, a former supervisory FBI special agent, told AZFamily that investigations like this one "are among the most serious investigations that the FBI or law enforcement investigates" because of the potential for mass casualties.

The defense disputes the case

Bjornholt's defense attorney told the court that the case rests on hearsay from a former acquaintance whom Bjornholt had let sleep on his couch and then kicked out in late September, FOX 10 Phoenix reported. The attorney said the FBI searched Bjornholt's home on Sept. 29, that Bjornholt gave agents his devices and passwords, and that federal authorities chose not to file charges before county prosecutors took over the case. He also said the three guns were legally owned and that no bomb-making materials were found.

Prosecutors asked for a $500,000 cash bond. The judge found probable cause for the charge but said the state's early evidence relied heavily on hearsay, according to FOX 10 Phoenix, and set bond at $100,000 instead. AZFamily reported that the release conditions include pretrial supervision with electronic monitoring, no contact with victims or witnesses, and no weapons.

Bjornholt is scheduled to return to court for a status conference on Oct. 22 and a preliminary hearing on Oct. 26, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.

A separate federal case in California

In an unrelated case, federal prosecutors in Sacramento announced on Oct. 20 that Lo Saetern, 35, of Sacramento, has been indicted on charges of making interstate threats, making threats involving explosives and possessing ammunition as a prohibited person. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California, court documents say that between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21 he posted numerous threats on YouTube about building a bomb and killing children at a nearby church, and about carrying out a mass shooting against Muslims. BNO News reported that the church is in Elk Grove and that one post read, "Let's carry out a mass shooting against all Muslims and anyone who supports Islam."

The Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse in Sacramento, home of the federal court for the Eastern District of California. Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Prosecutors said investigators found ammunition at his home, along with bags of sulfur powder and charcoal powder that can be combined with potassium nitrate to make black powder, an explosive. The charges are only allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, the U.S. Attorney's Office noted.

How mosques can prepare

In both cases, the threats reached law enforcement before anyone was hurt. That is the first lesson for every mosque and house of worship: notice, report and prepare. Here are practical steps any congregation can take now.

Know your local police contact. Make sure your board and volunteers know who to call at your local police department, and report any threat right away, whether it comes online, by phone or in person. Save screenshots, messages and voicemails.

Post greeters at the doors. Have greeters at the entrances during daily prayers, Friday prayers and larger events. A warm welcome for every visitor also means someone is watching who comes in.

Keep exits clear. Keep every exit clear and clearly marked, and make sure regular worshippers know where the exits are.

Check cameras and lighting. Make sure cameras work, are recording and cover entrances and parking areas, and that outdoor lighting leaves no dark spots.

Train volunteers. Teach volunteers how to spot and report suspicious behavior, and who to tell when something feels wrong.

A security camera mounted on the outside of a building. Photo: Cody Logan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Security grants for Maryland congregations

The federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, run by FEMA, funds target hardening and other physical security improvements for nonprofits at high risk of attack, including houses of worship. FEMA announced its fiscal year 2026 awards on Sept. 28. Congregations that want to apply in the next round should contact their State Administrative Agency early, since it sets its own deadline ahead of FEMA's. Nonprofits in Montgomery and Prince George's counties apply through the National Capital Region urban area.

Maryland's Protecting Against Hate Crimes grant, run by the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Policy, helps nonprofits, including faith-based organizations, pay for security at facilities at risk of hate crimes. In August the state announced $10 million in fiscal 2027 awards to 116 organizations. The application deadline for this cycle was April 24, 2026, so congregations should watch for the next round.

Montgomery County nonprofits have a deadline coming up. The county's FY27 Nonprofit Security Grant Program, run by the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, offers up to $15,000 per facility for security personnel, planning, training, drills, assessments and security cameras. Applications are due Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. through the county's Euna Grants platform.

"Mosques and synagogues stand side by side in this, and so should our communities. No family should have to wonder whether it is safe to pray. We urge every congregation in Maryland to get to know their local police, train their volunteers, and apply for the security grants available to them, including Montgomery County's, due October 29," said Rahat Husain, Executive Director of the Shia Muslim Foundation.

Why it matters

Mosques and synagogues are meant to be open doors. Prosecutors have not named a specific site in the Chandler case, but the alleged plan was aimed at a Jewish or Muslim house of worship. Being welcoming and being safe are not in conflict: a congregation that knows its neighbors, its exits and its local police is better prepared for whatever comes.

Sources: 12News (Oct. 19, 2026); KJZZ (Oct. 19, 2026); AZFamily (Oct. 18, 2026); FOX 10 Phoenix (Oct. 16, 2026); U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California (Oct. 20, 2026); BNO News (Oct. 20, 2026); FEMA; Maryland GOCPP; Office of Governor Wes Moore (Aug. 25, 2026); Montgomery County. Photos: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons; Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons; Cody Logan / Wikimedia Commons.

Faith, Stigma and Seeking Help: What the Data Says About Muslim Americans' Mental Health

Community members listen during the Faith & Mental Health Community Workshop at Idara e Jaferia in Burtonsville, Maryland, on Oct. 17, 2026. Photo: Shia Muslim Foundation

BURTONSVILLE, Md. — When Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and state Sen. Clarence K. Lam came to Idara e Jaferia on October 17, the State of Maryland honored the Shia Muslim Foundation (SMF) and Idara e Jaferia for a workshop on a subject many families still find hard to talk about: mental health. Read SMF's report on the Governor's Citations and the General Assembly proclamation.

The honors recognized one morning's conversation. The questions behind it are bigger. How are Muslim Americans really doing? Why do so many hesitate to see a counselor? And what can mosques, community centers and the state do about it? This SMF News deep dive looks at what the research says, and where families can turn for help.

What the latest numbers show

The most recent national data comes from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU). Its May 2026 analysis, Distress and Disconnection, draws on the American Muslim Poll 2025. It found a mixed picture. Slightly more than half of Muslims (53%) rate their mental health as "excellent" or "very good," on par with 52% of the general public.

But more than one in five Muslims (22%) rate their mental health as "fair" or "poor," compared with 18% of the general public, ISPU reported. The gaps are wider inside the community. Muslim women were more likely than Muslim men to report fair or poor mental health (29% vs. 17%). Young adults had the hardest time: 33% of Muslims ages 18 to 29 rated their mental health fair or poor, about twice the rate of Muslims 30 to 49 (15%) and 50 and older (17%).

Pressures that add up

ISPU points to a set of factors that put Muslim Americans at higher risk of chronic stress. Muslims are younger than other faith groups, with about a quarter of Muslim adults between 18 and 29, compared with 5% to 15% of other groups. About 35% of Muslim households earn $30,000 or less a year, the highest share of any religious group surveyed, and 40% of Muslims in the U.S. were born outside the country, according to the report.

Discrimination is part of the picture too. In the American Muslim Poll 2025, 63% of Muslims said they had faced religious discrimination in the past year, more than any other faith group surveyed. ISPU notes that research has shown Islamophobia to be a structural determinant of mental health for Muslims in the United States.

For Shia Muslim families, the October workshop named these pressures directly: coping with tragedy, discrimination and stress, including grief over suffering abroad, as SMF reported.

Where people turn first: faith, family and the imam

Many Muslims look first to faith and family when they are struggling. ISPU's earlier study of Muslims during the pandemic found they reported similar levels of mental distress as the general public, but were more likely to rely on faith and family to cope rather than professional treatment.

The new data shows a gap in professional care, and also progress. Just 32% of Muslims said they had ever visited a mental health professional, compared with 38% of the general public. That number has grown, though, from 25% in 2019, ISPU found. And Muslim parents were just as likely as other parents to report a child under 18 who has received mental health treatment (11%, compared with 13% of the general public).

That leaves faith leaders carrying a heavy load. In a national survey of imams published in Psychiatric Services, researchers mailed questionnaires to 730 mosques across the United States. Imams reported that congregants came to them most often for religious or spiritual guidance and for relationship or marital concerns, and that since September 11, 2001, they had seen an increased need to counsel people who faced discrimination. Few of the responding imams had formal counseling training.

— Osman M. Ali, Glen Milstein and Peter M. Marzuk, Psychiatric Services (2005)

The authors concluded that imams need more support from mental health professionals to fulfill "a potentially vital role in improving access to services" for Muslim communities with unmet needs.

Bringing care into community spaces

Researchers increasingly say the answer is not to choose between faith and treatment, but to bring them together. ISPU recommends that Muslim community leaders partner with mental health professionals for education, make local resources easier to find, and consider offering mental health services directly in mosques and community centers. It points to the Islamic Center of Detroit, which launched My Mental Wellness Clinic to make care visible, accessible and affordable, and cites a study finding that integrating Muslim mental health professionals into the mosque community "can help normalize the use of these services and increase their accessibility."

ISPU also urges mental health professionals to build religious literacy and to offer practical accommodations: gender-matched providers, virtual appointments, evening and weekend hours, and private spaces for prayer.

State health and faith-outreach leaders and psychiatrists on the panel at the Faith & Mental Health Community Workshop at Idara e Jaferia, Oct. 17, 2026. Photo: Shia Muslim Foundation

The Burtonsville workshop followed that model. It put Maryland's Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health, Dr. Rachel Talley, and the Governor's Office of Community Initiatives' Director of Faith Outreach, Dr. Lora Hargrove, alongside psychiatrists Dr. Syed Akhtar Naqvi, Dr. Mahvash Sheikh and Dr. Fezan Rizvi, inside a Shia Muslim center. Speakers stressed that stigma can keep people from seeking treatment, and Dr. Hargrove noted that interest in holistic wellness can open the door to conversations about mental health, SMF reported.

Maryland's growing role

Maryland has made faith communities part of its approach. Lt. Gov. Miller's policy portfolio includes mental health, and she chairs Maryland's first Council on Interfaith Outreach, which brings together faith leaders from across religions and across the state to "bridge divides, increase religious tolerance, end hate, and better serve all communities," according to her office.

The Governor's Office of Community Initiatives says its faith outreach connects faith-based organizations with resources from state and federal agencies, including grants, through partnerships, workshops, conferences and other events. Its work covers issues including emergency and disaster preparedness and threats and vulnerabilities facing faith organizations.

The state's crisis line is also growing. Maryland 988 received 157,712 contacts in 2025, a 27% increase from the year before, and Maryland call specialists answer nearly all calls (92%), according to the Maryland Department of Health. The department's Behavioral Health Administration oversees and funds the service through eight regional call centers. Citing research published in JAMA, the department says 988 has been linked to an 11% decrease in suicides nationwide among people ages 15 to 34 since it launched in July 2022.

Where to find help

Anyone in emotional distress, or worried about someone else, can call or text 988 or chat at chat.988lifeline.org. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and available 24/7. It is not only for suicidal crises. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) lists anxiety, depression, loneliness, trauma, bullying, stress and relationship troubles among the reasons people reach out.

— SAMHSA, 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline FAQ

Callers do not have to give personal information to get support, and interpretation is available in more than 240 languages, which matters for immigrant families and elders, SAMHSA says. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Maryland's 988 page also links to mental health and substance use services across the state.

For faith-sensitive care, ISPU's mental health toolkit points to the Institute for Muslim Mental Health's directory of Muslim mental health professionals. ISPU also lists American Muslim Health Professionals, The Family and Youth Institute, Maristan and Stanford's Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab as resources.

Why it matters

The data points in one direction. Muslim Americans, especially young adults and women, carry real strain, and many still turn first to faith and family rather than to a professional. That makes mosques and community centers natural front doors to care. When those doors open onto clinicians, state health leaders and resources like 988, as they did in Burtonsville on October 17, families have more places to turn.

Read SMF's original report: Maryland Honors Idara e Jaferia and Shia Muslim Foundation at Faith and Mental Health Workshop. For the full program, see SMF's workshop recap.

Sources: ISPU, Distress and Disconnection (May 4, 2026); ISPU, American Muslim Poll 2025; ISPU Mental Health Toolkit; Ali, Milstein and Marzuk, Psychiatric Services (2005); Office of Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller; Governor's Office of Community Initiatives, Faith Outreach; Maryland Department of Health, 988 Lifeline Overview (June 2026); SAMHSA, 988 FAQs. Photos: Shia Muslim Foundation.

Maryland's First Monument to a Muslim American Honors Malcolm X, Organizers Say

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X meet in Washington on March 26, 1964, when both came to hear the Senate debate on the Civil Rights Act. Photo: Marion S. Trikosko, U.S. News & World Report / Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A monument unveiled on Wednesday, October 14, outside the Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library is the first memorial in Maryland dedicated to a Muslim American, according to its organizers. It honors Malcolm X, the civil rights leader who took the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Carl O. Snowden, who led the effort, said the memorial represents the first in the state dedicated to a Muslim American, Maryland Matters reported. It is also Maryland's first and only monument to Malcolm X, WMAR-2 News reported.

The double-sided monument features photographs of Malcolm X from his public life, his words and a short biography, according to The Banner. Maryland Matters reported that the photos include Malcolm X with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and with boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Built into the monument is a time capsule that will stay sealed until 2076, the nation's 300th anniversary.

More than 100 people attended the nearly 90-minute ceremony, according to Maryland Matters, and officials from the federal, state, county and city levels spoke. The Capital Gazette reported that speakers included U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Annapolis Mayor Jared Littmann, state Sen. Shaneka Henson and county schools Superintendent Mark Bedell. Gloria Dent, president of the Anne Arundel County school board, read a letter of gratitude from Malcolm X's daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz.

A community-funded first for Maryland

The Caucus of African American Leaders, which Snowden convenes, began pushing for the memorial in May 2025. Snowden told Maryland Matters the project cost $350,000, including $70,000 from the county, with the rest raised by the caucus, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee and others. (The Banner reported the cost as $300,000.) The monument was made by Florida-based PG Memorials, and it is the first permanent public art installation at an Anne Arundel County Public Library branch, according to The Banner.

"Freedom is not free and there's some things people have to do for themselves, if we want memorials that reflect our heroes we must be willing to pay for it," Snowden told WMAR-2 News. "So what we were able to do, we got hundreds of donors...to make sure that this memorial will come to existence."

"He was one of those iconic individuals that come once in a lifetime," Snowden said of Malcolm X. He added that the new memorial completes a series that began with Dr. King: "Malcolm X is the Apex of the memorials here in Anne Arundel County."

A message to 2076 from the state's first Muslim American memorial

The time capsule holds answers to one question, Snowden said: what will race relations be like in America 50 years from now? Elected officials and community members wrote responses, and they will stay sealed until 2076, WMAR-2 reported.

"This is the only memorial in the state of Maryland that has a time capsule that answers this question 50 years from the day," Snowden said. WMAR-2 reported that members of the public can still add their own predictions by contacting the Anne Arundel County Public Library.

Malcolm X in 1964. Photo: Ed Ford, New York World-Telegram & Sun / Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Why Maryland's first stands at a library

The Anne Arundel County Public Library says the memorial recognizes Malcolm X's influence on conversations about racial justice, Black identity, human rights and self-determination. The library also points to his own story: while in prison, he educated himself through extensive reading. It quotes a line from The Autobiography of Malcolm X: "My alma mater was books, a good library.... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity."

"This story belongs in a library," library CEO Skip Auld said at the ceremony, according to The Banner. "Libraries bring together people and ideas that challenge us, that unsettle us, and sometimes make us uncomfortable. They invite us to listen, ask questions, and reconsider what we think we know."

— Skip Auld, CEO, Anne Arundel County Public Library, October 14, 2026

Malcolm X had no direct connection to Maryland, but Sen. Henson said that was no reason not to honor him. "Why not Malcolm X?" she said, according to Maryland Matters. "When you think of Malcolm X and you think of a library, Malcolm X was a storyteller."

County Executive Pittman said his own view of Malcolm X changed as he read about his life. He acknowledged that some residents will be angry about the memorial, but said, "they're going to learn from it … and it's going to open their minds."

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz: the Muslim American behind the monument

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in May 1925. In 1964 he made the pilgrimage to Mecca, took the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and broadened his view that people of all races could work together to fight injustice, according to Maryland Matters. He was assassinated in February 1965, at age 39.

The library and several speakers also spoke about the painful parts of his record. The library's materials say antisemitic statements he made "should neither be ignored nor excused," and that the memorial is not an endorsement of them but a chance to examine his life in full historical context, "including the significant evolution of his views." Jennifer Mizrahi of the Jewish Federation of Annapolis and the Chesapeake told The Banner it meant "so much" that the library acknowledged the Jewish community.

Superintendent Bedell said there will be people "who do not and will not agree" with the monument, but that "progress, whether for racial justice or anything else, isn't built on perfection," according to The Banner. He added that "the quest to create a society where every single person feels a sense of belonging continues today."

A Maryland Muslim civil rights group welcomes the honor

On October 19, the Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the monument, calling Malcolm X "a transformative Muslim leader whose insistence on Black dignity, self-determination and human rights continues to inspire movements for justice." The group said understanding him requires recognizing "the central place of Islam in his life."

— Zainab Chaudry, Maryland Director, CAIR, October 19, 2026

"By honoring El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Maryland affirms that Black dignity, Muslim identity and the courageous pursuit of justice belong at the heart of our shared history," said Zainab Chaudry, CAIR's Maryland director. Her letter is among those sealed in the time capsule. "When future generations open it in 2076, they will inherit our words alongside the consequences of our choices," she said.

Why a first matters for Muslim Americans

Public monuments say who a community chooses to remember. Until this month, according to its organizers, Maryland had no memorial dedicated to a Muslim American. The first now stands outside a public library in the state capital, honoring a man who, after his 1964 pilgrimage to Mecca, broadened his view that people of all races could work together to fight injustice. Visitors of every background can learn there about his life, his faith and his fight for human rights and dignity.

Sources: Maryland Matters (Oct. 14, 2026); WMAR-2 News (Oct. 14, 2026); Capital Gazette (Oct. 14, 2026); The Banner (Oct. 14, 2026); Anne Arundel County Public Library; CAIR Maryland (Oct. 19, 2026). Photos: Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons; Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons.