A 13-year-old boy who confessed to plotting an attack on Temple Israel in Canton, OH, has been sentenced to a year of probation and writing a book report. Family court judge Jim James sentenced the defendant to write the report on Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz, who designed an elaborate rescue plan that saved 62,000 Jews from the Nazis during the Second World War. He will also have to undergo counselling and is barred from unsupervised use of the internet. The boy, whose identity is protected due to his age, was arrested in September after employees at social media platform Discord alerted the FBI there were “threats and plans to burn down and shoot up the Temple Israel.”A police report states authorities uncovered “plans and maps of the synagogue” which they suspected were made by the boy and another individual based in Washington state. The suspect was interviewed on September 7, telling FBI agents he was involved in “multiple antisemitic and political groups on Discord.”He pleaded “true” (guilty in family court) to misdemeanor charges of inducing panic and disorderly conduct. Stark County Sheriff George Maier said local police “stand by a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to threats made against our community.”Discord vice-president of trust and safety John Redgrave said the company doesn’t allow violent extremism. “And when we see it, we take immediate action,” he said per BBC. "It is a top priority for Discord to ensure a safe experience for our users." Jewish advocacy and anti-extremism group Anti-Defamation League’s local branch said the plot was “horrifying” and that “hate and threats on social media, as in real life, cannot and will not be tolerated.”
