DETROIT — FBI agents Friday arrested an Upper Peninsula man accused of threatening a mass killing at an East Lansing synagogue on the fifth anniversary of an attack that killed 51 people in New Zealand.
Seann Patrick Pietila, 19, of Pickford was charged with leveling threats on social media, including Instragram, that included comments about neo-Nazi ideology, anti-semitism and glorifying mass shootings, most notably the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand.
His arrest, and search of his family's rural home 45 miles northeast of the Mackinac Bridge, represents the latest case of violent extremism in Michigan, which has drawn national attention since FBI agents foiled a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.
A 43-page criminal complaint filed in federal court chronicles an investigation that started three days ago with a tip that someone was threatening on Instagram to commit a mass killing. The investigation culminated Friday with FBI agents arresting Pietila, searching his home, discovering a cache of weapons, knives, tactical equipment, a red-and-white Nazi flag and makeshift plans for killing members of the Shaarey Zedek congregation on March 15, 2024.
When reached by phone Friday, Pietila's mother, Brittany, said: "I have nothing to say," and hung up.
Rabbi Amy Bigman of Shaarey Zedek said the synagogue has notified its congregation of 220 families after learning about the investigation from FBI agents Friday afternoon.
“We sent out an email to let the congregation know the information that we were given from the U.S. attorney and the FBI that there was a threat,” Bigman told The Detroit News. “It was not imminent ... and that they have caught the person and this person is being charged. We wanted our congregation to know that federal, state and local authorities are aware of the situation that didn’t happen because our law enforcement was on top of things, which we are thankful for.”
The synagogue is maintaining its usual security measures as it heads into sermons Saturday, Bigman said.
“I don’t normally check my email as I prepare for the sabbath, but over many years, we have been working on security issues in our congregation, and we’ve had training for situations like this where someone enters the building,” Bigman said. “However, all of this was unknown to us until I heard from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan this afternoon. We had no knowledge of this person or a threat.”
Amy Shapiro, volunteer chair of the synagogue’s safety committee, said it has been a hectic few hours Friday after finding out about the situation.
“We were not aware of this individual or even knew his name,” said Shapiro, 57, who has attended the synagogue since she was a child. “This is something we know is a possibility and we’ve made plans and have been increasing our security measures over time, but we don’t like to talk about what those are, but every synagogue in the country is worried about these things.”
Pietila is being held temporarily without bond pending a detention hearing next week in federal court. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison.
“Antisemitic threats and violence against our Jewish communities — or any other group for that matter – will not be tolerated in the Western District of Michigan,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in a statement. “Today and every day, we take all credible threats seriously. I’m incredibly grateful to the FBI for their swift action to identify and arrest Pietela.”
The criminal case Friday focuses on numerous anti-semitic social media posts with the user name "finnishv64".
“This world just sucks a--,” Pietila allegedly wrote in a June 1 Instagram post. “I won’t be taken alive I’ll make sure of that. Remember ‘Heil Hitler!’ boom red mist… gotta make it unique I guess. Maybe. I just need a camera for streaming and some more magazines. Don’t wanna run out of mags and have to reload one.”
He punctuated the post with a skull emoji.
“We would surely inspire others to take arms against the Jewish controlled state,” another post reads. “I only chose the 15th to mimic b.t’s attack lol. All I know is, it’s not just gonna be a copy of Brenton’s.”
Those are apparent references to Brenton Tarrant, who is serving life in prison for killing 51 people and injured 40 others in the Christchurch attacks.
The investigation led FBI agents to a Pinterest account filled with photos of Nazi imagery, Tarrant and another mass killer.
Meanwhile, Instagram gave the FBI information about additional accounts linked to the one that posted the threats. One account included the user name “seannpietila,” according to the criminal case.
Investigators learned Pietila had attended Lansing Eastern High School as recently as the 2020-21 school year. That detail led to Pietila’s mother, Brittany Stob. Investigators analyzed her Facebook account and located a photo of Seann Pietila and a cat in the background.
The cat on the shoulder in the above photo appears to match the cat in the photo posted by the brittany.pietila Facebook account.
The cat appears to match a feline in another photo posted to the mother’s account. In that photo, a man is wearing a skull mask.
The investigation intensified early Friday. That is when FBI agents executed a search warrant at Pietila’s home in Pickford Township.
He was arrested, transported to Chippewa County Jail and questioned by investigators.
Pietila told investigators he had moved to Pickford a week earlier after moving from a home near the Michigan State University campus.
"Seann Patrick Pietila advised he was the Instagram user finnishv64," an FBI agent wrote in the criminal case Friday. "...Pietila told investigators that he did not intend on following through with the mass killings that he spoke about."
While Pietila met with investigators, FBI agents continued to search his home. Investigators seized ammunition, magazines, a shotgun, a rifle, a pistol, various knives, firearms accessories, tactical vests, mask, a Nazi flag, a ghillie suit, gas masks, and military sniper/survival manuals, according to the complaint.
Investigators also seized Pietila's phone and searched his Notes app, according to the government.
One note referenced Shaarey Zedek, listed the date March 15, 2024 and equipment, including Molotov cocktail firebombs, a shotgun and other weapons.
