An Army infantryman at Fort Polk, Louisiana, cited the “cause” of white nationalism in online threats to attack a synagogue and kill “every single Jew,” according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday.
Spec. Jakob Marcoulier, 22, was charged April 23 with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The FBI obtained audio recordings of comments Marcoulier allegedly made on the messaging platform Discord in which he threatened to act in the coming months “if the Jews still have reign over our government,” the indictment stated. Investigators pulled the recording from Discord servers.
An FBI affidavit said agents identified Marcoulier’s voice on the recording telling others that, “after this deployment … I am going to walk into a synagogue with my AK, with a 75-round drum mag, and all of my extra mags, with my level four plates, and my haka helmet that’s three plus, and I am going to kill every single Jew.”
A spokesperson for the 10th Mountain Division confirmed to Task & Purpose that Marcoulier is assigned to the unit’s 3rd Brigade, which is based at Fort Polk. Marcoulier joined the Army in July 2023 as an infantryman and completed one operational rotation to Europe, the official said.
Authorities began investigating Marcoulier after a “concerned citizen reached out” in February about threats toward Jewish worshipers made by a Discord user named “el.bostino,” said Jonathan Tapp, special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office.
Marcoulier allegedly said he’d carry out the attack “for the f(***)ing cause” and also appeared to ape a white nationalist slogan known as “The 14 Words,” a pledge to secure “a future for white children.” The slogan is popular among neo-Nazis who view immigration as a plot among Jews and other non-white groups to change the demographics of the country.
“I’ll still kill these mother(***)ers in order to make sure the white youth is f(***)ing secured,” Marcoulier said, according to the indictment. “I have to go back overseas and do what I have to do. And then you’ll see me in the news. I promise you.”
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Marcoulier is being held in jail pending a detention hearing after federal prosecutors said he was a flight risk because he allegedly spoke of deploying overseas. But Marcoulier’s unit has no upcoming deployments, spokesman Maj. Geoff Carmichael said.
Marcoulier’s defense attorney, Angelle Boudreaux, filed a motion Tuesday arguing her client should be released from pre-trial detention.
“The government did not proffer evidence that Mr. Marcoulier was going to be deployed,” Boudreaux wrote in the filing, “and in any case, military deployment does not constitute a ‘serious risk of flight.’”
Boudreaux did not return a request for comment. Marcoulier faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted.
White nationalist extremism in uniform
Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin established a working group in 2021 to counter extremist activity in the ranks after a string of veterans and active personnel were arrested for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. A Pentagon report at the time said the department doesn’t adequately track radicalized troops.
Two years after the working group was established, the only recommendation that had been implemented was tied to training troops on what constitutes extremist activities and why that is prohibited. Other recommendations involving screening recruits differently and monitoring potential insider threats faced accusations from conservatives and some Republican lawmakers of being politically motivated.
The sentiment has been shared by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose orders to serve with his National Guard unit during President Joe Biden’s inauguration were revoked because of his Jerusalem Cross tattoo. Hegseth told lawmakers at his Jan. 14, 2025 confirmation hearing that he would curb such policies when he took over the Pentagon.
“I’d been identified as an extremist,” Hegseth said. “And if that’s happening to me, Senator, how many other men and women? How many other patriots? … Things like focusing on extremism, Senator, have created a climate inside our ranks that feel political when it hasn’t ever been political. Those are the types of things that are going to change.”
