Joshua Cobb, a 24-year-old former U.S. Marine from Trenton, was sentenced on May 22, 2025, to 15 months in federal prison for posting online threats to carry out a mass shooting targeting white people in New Jersey. U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch imposed the sentence in Trenton federal court, along with three years of supervised release, after Cobb pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.1U.S. Department of Justice. Mercer County Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Communicating Threats to Attack Members of White Community The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years.
What Cobb Posted
On December 17, 2022, Cobb used a social media account to publish a lengthy message laying out plans for a racially motivated attack. He wrote that he wanted to “cause mayhem on the white community” and to “erase them,” said he had “officially began planning my attack” for 2023, and claimed he had already acquired two of the four firearms he intended to use.2U.S. Department of Justice. Mercer County Man Pleads Guilty to Communicating Threats to Attack Members of White Community
The post named specific targets: a Jersey Strong gym and an Aldi grocery store in Robbinsville, New Jersey, locations Cobb said he had frequented for about a year. He wrote that he was “certain nobody there is armed to be able to stop me” and that “white people are going to feel my pain in 2023.”2U.S. Department of Justice. Mercer County Man Pleads Guilty to Communicating Threats to Attack Members of White Community He also said he planned to kill himself after the attack.
Cobb described his motive in racial terms, writing: “The reason i specifically want to target white people is because as a black male, they will NEVER understand my struggles.”3NBC Philadelphia. NJ Man Gets Prison Following Plot to Kill White People In another passage he wrote, “I dream of a day of pure evil on them. I plan to allow every evil spirit to work entirely through me and kill as many as i can.”1U.S. Department of Justice. Mercer County Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Communicating Threats to Attack Members of White Community
How the FBI Identified Him
After writing the post, Cobb enlisted in the Marine Corps and began basic training in June 2023. He was assigned to the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, where he served as a private first class.4Marine Corps Times. Marine Charged With Threatening Mass Shooting of White People
FBI agents came to the base on April 2, 2024, after using IP addresses and other digital evidence to tie him to the threatening posts. In the interview, Cobb admitted the social media accounts were his and said he continued to have “homicidal ideations,” according to an FBI affidavit.5NBC News. New Jersey Marine Accused of Threats to Kill White People in Mass Shooting He told agents about his “idolization of other mass shooters,” naming the gunman in the 2018 Parkland, Florida, high school shooting and the 2022 Buffalo, New York, supermarket shooter.6The New York Times. Mercer County Man Charged With Threats Against White People
Investigators also found a second account, under the username “1dayUsuffer,” that Cobb used between February and May 2023. Posts from that account included fantasies about shooting into a crowd for an “adrenaline rush,” critiques of federal gun laws, references to torturing cats, and reflections on his own mental illness.7NJ.com. Ex-Marine Sentenced for Threats of Mass Shootings at NJ Grocery Store, Gym
Discharge, Arrest, and Guilty Plea
The Marine Corps discharged Cobb on May 10, 2024, after being notified of the investigation. A Marine Corps spokeswoman did not specify how the discharge was characterized.4Marine Corps Times. Marine Charged With Threatening Mass Shooting of White People Federal authorities arrested him the same day.8U.S. Department of Justice. Mercer County Man Charged With Communicating Threats to Attack White People
On January 13, 2025, Cobb pleaded guilty before Judge Kirsch to a single-count information charging him with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. He admitted writing the post, acknowledged that he understood it was threatening, and gave detailed information about the locations he had scouted.2U.S. Department of Justice. Mercer County Man Pleads Guilty to Communicating Threats to Attack Members of White Community Four months later, the same judge handed down the 15-month sentence. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vera Varshavsky of the National Security Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, with the FBI’s Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force leading the investigation.1U.S. Department of Justice. Mercer County Man Sentenced to 15 Months for Communicating Threats to Attack Members of White Community