Florida man arrested for threatening ‘racially motivated mass casualty event’

FBI agents found white supremacist propaganda and firearms in the man’s home.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters (Getty Images)

A Florida man was arrested by the FBI for allegedly making online threats about committing a white supremacist mass shooting.

Alexander Lightner, 26, has been charged with transmitting a threat to injure in interstate or foreign commerce and possession of an unregistered firearm.

According to federal court documents, Lightner made several online posts on 29 December that were “intended to convey the message that he was planning to conduct a racially or ethnically motivated mass casualty event.”

Among the comments, Lightner allegedly wrote that in “2024 there shall be saints" and “Highscore shall be defeated.”

An FBI investigator said a “saint” refers to “an individual who commits an act of violence in furtherance of white supremacist and accelerationist goals,” and a “highscore” is a “reference to the death toll amassed by an attacker who commits an act of mass violence.”

Lightner also allegedly posted comments about ammunition, and wrote that “you have not seen the wrath of the Aryan that has no purpose left."

Law enforcement conducted a search of Lightner’s home in Venice, Florida on 5 January, where they found multiple firearms, ammunition, and a silencer. They also found white supremacist propaganda, some of which specifically mentioned “saints.”

In an interview with FBI agents, Lightner admitted to making the online posts, saying “he was drunk” at the time but remembered posting them. “Lightner said he made the posts because he wanted attention from the online community,” the court documents state.