Matthew Mahrer, 24, was sentenced earlier this year to two and a half years in prison for his role in planning the attack. His accomplice, Christopher Brown, who converted to Islam, was sentenced in November 2024 to 10 years in prison.
Mahrer, who is Jewish, once wrote a short book as a child about his grandfather’s experiences as a forced labor camp prisoner during the Holocaust. Brown, who was raised Christian, previously worked as a Sabbath gentile for an Orthodox rabbi. Their backgrounds took a dark turn when, in November 2022, Brown tweeted about his desire to “shoot up a synagogue and die,” leading Mahrer to help him obtain a weapon. The two were arrested at a Pennsylvania train station while intoxicated.
The Times’ report details their troubled histories, with both experiencing instability in school and struggling to find direction before embracing violent extremism. Mahrer was diagnosed with attention and behavioral disorders as a child and was placed in youth facilities. He met Brown in one such institution, and the two became close friends. Their families described experiences of neglect and abuse, yet their bond strengthened over time.
Brown’s exposure to extremist ideology began around age 11 or 12 when he encountered neo-Nazi groups on Facebook. “What attracted me was the sense of community and brotherhood,” he told the Times from prison near the Canadian border, adding that he never met group members in person but that their rhetoric “corrupted my mind.”
The two maintained frequent phone contact, often discussing weapons. Mahrer boasted of ties to gangs, while Brown continued posting violent messages targeting Jews and other groups.
Since his imprisonment, Brown has befriended a Hasidic inmate introduced to him by a prison rabbi. He now claims remorse and an interest in studying Judaism. Mahrer is expected to be released soon, while Brown has several years left in his sentence — one authorities hope will prevent them from returning to their past ideologies.
