Racially Motivated Mass Shooting Threatened By FL Man: U.S. DOJ

VENICE, FL — A Venice man faces federal charges after threatening to conduct a racially or ethnically motivated mass shooting, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Alexander Lightner, 26, was charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure and unlawful possession of a silencer.

If he’s convicted of all charges, he faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison, the DOJ said.

Lightner sent messages online on Dec. 29 threatening to carry out a mass shooting.

His messages included: “2024 there shall be saints u (expletive)”; “Highscore shall be defeated”; “It’s called a .308 black tip.”; and “Those that know me know. It’s over, you have not seen the wrath of the Aryan that has no purpose left.”

In the racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist (RMVE) community, a “saint” is an individual who commits an act of mass violence to further RMVE ideology, and the term “high score” refers to the death toll amassed by an attacker, or “saint,” who commits an act of mass violence, the DOJ said.

When federal law enforcement agents searched Lightner’s home, they found an unregistered silencer, ammunition and multiple guns in his bedroom.