RALEIGH, N.C. \u2013 Two young people have been arrested in an alleged plot to attack a Texas synagogue that involved driving through the congregation to \u201ckill as many Jews as possible,\u201d according to authorities and court documents.<\/p>\n
The arrests come a month after an armed man crashed his pickup truck<\/a> into a major Detroit-area synagogue in another attack on Jewish people. Synagogues around the world have increased security and protections for worshippers since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran<\/a> on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, North Carolina, was being held Thursday in the Davidson County jail under a $10 million bond, jail records show. She was arrested Wednesday and formally charged with conspiring with two \u201cmale subjects\u201d to commit murder and assault against members of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston on April 21, 2028, according to warrants laying out two felony counts against her. <\/p>\n The FBI office in Charlotte said Thursday in a social media post that a juvenile was arrested in relation to the plot and charged in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. There was no immediate information on whether the juvenile was one of the two male subjects identified in Hicks\u2019 warrants, which listed only their first names and noted their last names as \u201cunknown.\u201d<\/p>\n A Houston Police Department news release on Thursday announced a 16-year-old being arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder related to \u201ca threat directed towards certain Jewish institutions in our area\u201d that the agency learned about Wednesday. The department didn\u2019t identify Congregation Beth Israel specifically. The FBI and the Houston school district police department assisted in the arrest.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this time, there is no other known credible threat,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n Explaining why Hicks\u2019 detention was necessary, District Court Judge Carlton Terry wrote Wednesday in part that the alleged \u201cconspiracy is to kill as many Jews as possible by driving through a congregation at a synagogue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAllowing a co-conspirator a chance to communicate with either of those individuals or those who could relay a message puts lives at risk,\u201d Terry added.<\/p>\n The FBI said its Charlotte Joint Terrorism Task Force began the investigation Tuesday evening after a tip to a North Carolina law enforcement agency. <\/p>\n While Hicks\u2019 warrants point to a potential attack two years from now, Alan Martin \u2014 a senior assistant district attorney covering Davidson County \u2014 said in an interview that there had been \u201csome concern that there could be an imminent event\u201d targeting the Houston synagogue. A potential motive for the planned violence wasn\u2019t immediately disclosed in North Carolina court documents. The investigation is continuing. <\/p>\n Attempts to speak by phone with Hicks\u2019 court-appointed attorney were unsuccessful Thursday. The lawyer, Chad Freeman, told the Houston Chronicle<\/a> that the case was in its early stages and Hicks\u2019 youth could be a factor in her defense.<\/p>\n \u201cI anticipate getting numerous experts involved in the case to look at both investigatory and possible forensic matters,\u201d Freeman told the newspaper. Her next scheduled hearing is May 13.<\/p>\n