Man arrested for reportedly threatening Minneapolis synagogue

A man has been arrested after reportedly making threatening phone calls to a synagogue, claiming he would “shoot up” Temple Israel.

The Minneapolis Police Department said they first learned of the threats on Sept. 11, when staff at Temple Israel told police that someone had called multiple times, threatening to “shoot up” the synagogue.

Police said they began to investigate after learning of the threats.

On Thursday, an officer working on extra patrols near Temple Israel was told by security that a man with a firearm was outside the building.

However, the man reportedly left the area before officers were able to arrest him. Police said they later learned the man with the gun and the one who had made the threatening calls was the same person, identified as 21-year-old Jaden LeBlanc.

LeBlanc was later arrested on Friday for terroristic threats. Police said no gun was recovered during the arrest.

“Everyone in Minneapolis has the right to feel safe in their communities, and we will ensure our Jewish neighbors are protected as they celebrate the holy days,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. “We take all threats made against our religious institutions seriously and will continue to hold the individuals accountable who threaten any of our city’s houses of worship. I am incredibly grateful for the work of investigators in this case for quickly responding to the threats and likely preventing a tragedy from occurring.”

The Minneapolis Police Department said extra patrols would be near Jewish synagogues for the Jewish Holy Days and the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel.

Police stated a meeting was held on Sept. 23 regarding the extra patrols, but had been planned for over a month and before the threat reports at Temple Israel.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also spoke about the incident during a press conference held on Saturday afternoon. “When you go to worship as a Jew, when you go to worship as any background, ethnicity or religion, you want to do so with peace.”

“For Jews around the world, and sadly also in Minneapolis, we’ve been seeing the repercussions of a war that is taking place across the world,” Frey added. “We all have an obligation here. Not just to act with peace but to encourage peace from our neighbors. We all should be saying the exact same thing: people are people, and people deserve to be loved and feel safe.”

Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman from Temple Israel also shared her thoughts during the press conference.

“Every religious community should be able to worship without fear, especially on the holiest days of their year. A threat to any religious community is a threat to all of us.”

In speaking about the message that will be sent to the congregation, Zimmerman said, “We truly feel proud to be Jewish, proud to be a Jewish community in Minneapolis and proud to have a heritage that is strong and vibrant and beautiful.”