Pennsylvania Man Charged with ISIS-Inspired Attack Arrested with Rifle and Ammo

Jonathan Hunter Kramer, a 21-year-old from Valencia, Pennsylvania, was arrested after FBI agents traced his movements to a hotel in Cranberry Township and recovered a semiautomatic rifle, five magazines—two loaded—and 190 rounds of ammunition. The federal complaint alleges that Kramer pledged allegiance to ISIS, used the pseudonym “Hamza Al Rashid” online to distribute explosives manuals, and expressed that he was preparing for a “mission” but lacked a weapon.

Authorities had been monitoring him since a 2023 juvenile investigation that resulted in delinquency adjudication for a planned mass-casualty attack and possession of child sexual abuse material. An anonymous tip in March prompted renewed scrutiny, leading agents to observe Kramer buying a disposable phone, paying cash for a hotel room, and later visiting a sporting-goods store before returning to the hotel with the weapons.

Searches also yielded a rifle scope, bipod, entrenchment tool, pepper spray and about 30 knives, along with a handwritten note expressing fear. Attorney General Todd Blanche highlighted the timing with the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, while FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrest thwarted a planned ISIS-aligned violent act. Kramer was taken to Butler County Jail, appeared in court, and prosecutors have asked that he be held without bond due to community safety concerns.