US-German dual citizen Joseph Neumeyer was deported to the United States from Israel on Saturday, as a legal battle with him at the centre came to the forefront this weekend. Though currently being at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre without bail, on Sunday, he appeared in Federal District Court in Brooklyn before Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo following his arrest at John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY.

Neumeyer is in the headlines for allegedly attempting to firebomb a US Embassy office in Israel. If that wasn’t enough, he is even believed to have threatened to assassinate President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, according to federal prosecutors’ stand in court.

Who is Joseph Neumeyer?

The 28-year-old man is from Colorado, US. A criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York indicates that the dual citizen of America and Germany started sharing troubling social media post on his Facebook profile in late March. Prosecutors maintained that he departed from the United States in February, later arriving in Israel on April 23.

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Further details mentioned in the complaint allege that Joseph Neumeyer eventually showed to a branch office of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv on May 19 – the same day he pushed a disturbing post threatening to firebomb the official location. “Join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America. Death to Americans and f—k the west,” the Colorado-born man wrote on Facebook.

Screenshots of threats Neumeyer made on Facebook, targetting President Trump and Elon Musk were also included in the criminal complaint obtained by the NY Post. Posts dated March 22, 2025, show him penning threats like: “We are killing Trump and Musk now. The Commonwealth,” and “I will hunt you down and kill you both. White House.”

In yet another similarly-worded post, he wrote: “Death to Trump, Greg Abbott. UK Atomic Energy Authority UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.” FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J Jensen said in a press releases, “Neumeyer not only made threats against Americans and US diplomatic missions, but also allegedly to carry out those threats by bringing potentially deadly devices to the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.”

He added, “Let his arrest carry an unmistakable message: The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue those who attempt to harm U.S. citizens and interests abroad.”

Prosecutors and the official complaint claim that while Neumeyer ended up at the embassy office in Israel on May 19, a guard outside an employee entrance barred his entry. The 28-year-old is then believed to have spat at the guard and cursed at him, spewing the F-word in English. However, as he was fleeing the scene, is dropped his backpack in the area. Three Molotov cocktails were reportedly discovered in the bag.

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Upon tracing his tracks back to a hotel five blocks away, Israeli police officers arrested him where he was staying. He ultimately confessed to having assaulted the guard and his backpack containing “Molotov cocktail bottles” with vodka. Prosecutors noted that the bag had three bottle with ethanol.

Charges against Joseph Neumeyer

The US citizen have been charged with using fire of an explosive to destroy US property. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

“This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans, and President Trump’s life,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”

Joseph Neumeyer has shot into focus days after two Israeli Embassy employees were fatally shot outside the Jewish Museum in Washington. According to an FBI affidavit, Elias Rodriguez was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting.