justin olsen

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Ohio teen who posted praise for mass shootings online arrested with 10,000 rounds of ammunition

The 18-year-old posted content in support of mass shootings and attacks on abortion clinics on meme-sharing website iFunny.

 

David Gilmour

Internet Culture

Posted on Aug 13, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 6:32 am CDT

An 18-year-old Ohio man, who posted online about his support for mass shootings and desire to attack abortion clinics, was charged on Monday by federal prosecutors for also making a number of threats to kill law enforcement.

According to the filed affidavit, investigators had been watching Justin Olsen’s activity on meme-sharing website iFunny since February, where he posted far-right content under the username ArmyOfChrist. 

The posts, which are still publicly available, reportedly rant against the LGBTQ community, immigrants, socialists, Planned Parenthood. They also call for the establishment of an “ethnostate.” 

Over the course of the following six months, the teen also expressed his admiration for “armed resistance” and domestic terrorists. On one occasion he praised the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, where 168 people died. 

Fascinated by cult leader David Koresh and the famous 1993 siege on his Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, Olsen said of the incident: “shoot every federal agent on sight.”

The Ohio resident also wrote that he “could not wait to start stockpiling weapons” and, as his iFunny account grew more popular, encouraged his 5,000 subscribers to join his private Discord server. It was there that he made the remarks for which he was charged.

When Olsen was finally taken into custody on Aug. 7, federal agents seized 25 firearms, a machete, camouflage clothing, and around 10,000 rounds of ammunition from his home.

The teen reportedly admitted to creating the profiles and server, describing his comments as “hyperbolic” and intended as a joke.

Olsen is being held in Mahoning County Jail in Ohio.

H/T Buzzfeed News

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*First Published: Aug 13, 2019, 4:49 pm CDT