Federal agents arrested Jonathan Hunter Kramer after seizing a semiautomatic rifle and about 190 rounds of ammunition, according to court records.
PITTSBURGH, PA — A 21-year-old western Pennsylvania man has been charged with receiving a firearm and ammunition that federal investigators allege he intended to use in support of an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Jonathan Hunter Kramer, of Valencia in Butler County, faces a federal charge of knowingly receiving a firearm or ammunition while knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe, that it would be used to commit a felony or federal crime of terrorism. Prosecutors said the alleged conduct included efforts to provide, attempt to provide or conspire to provide material support to ISIS, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization. The charge is an accusation, and Kramer is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Justice Department identified Kramer as 21 in its Sept. 15 announcement. An earlier federal complaint, filed Sept. 13, said he was 20 when he was released from a Pennsylvania juvenile detention facility in March. Federal authorities said their latest investigation began after an anonymous tip to the FBI on March 19 reported that Kramer had returned to troubling online behavior following his release.
According to an FBI affidavit, investigators linked Kramer to an encrypted-messaging account using the name “Hamza Al Rashid.” The FBI alleges the account expressed support for ISIS, circulated extremist material and discussed carrying out violence. Investigators said the account also communicated with an FBI confidential human source about a possible attack. The affidavit does not publicly identify a specific intended target for an attack.
Authorities allege the online activity became more urgent in the days before Kramer’s arrest. On Sept. 9, the account investigators attributed to Kramer wrote that he was preparing for a “mission” and needed a weapon before he would be ready, according to the affidavit. Federal officials said agents had also investigated attempts earlier in the year to obtain firearms through private transactions. The complaint says investigators used account records, surveillance, online activity and other evidence to connect Kramer to the communications.
On Sept. 12, FBI agents watched Kramer leave his residence with a backpack and take a rideshare vehicle to a Walmart in Gibsonia, according to the complaint. Investigators said he bought a disposable cellphone and later met another person in the parking lot, where surveillance video showed him receiving a long black bag from a vehicle. Agents believed the bag could hold a rifle. Kramer then traveled by rideshare to a hotel in Cranberry Township, where authorities said he paid cash for a one-week stay.
Investigators said Kramer later went to a sporting goods store and returned to the hotel carrying purchases. Agents approached him in the parking lot and subsequently executed federal search warrants. According to the affidavit, they recovered three 30-round rifle magazines and five boxes containing 130 rounds of ammunition from bags he was carrying. A search of his hotel room turned up a DPMS Panther Arms semiautomatic rifle, two loaded magazines, additional equipment and other property. Prosecutors said the ammunition recovered in the investigation totaled about 190 rounds.
The federal complaint also details an earlier investigation of Kramer while he was a juvenile. Authorities said the FBI began investigating him in 2023 after receiving a tip about threatening online statements and material related to a possible mass-casualty attack. Pennsylvania authorities later charged him as a juvenile, and court records cited by the FBI say he was adjudicated delinquent on offenses involving prohibited offensive weapons and child sexual abuse material. He was placed at the Pathways Adolescent Center in Oil City and was released in March 2026, according to the affidavit.
Federal prosecutors said Kramer made his initial appearance Sept. 14. The government has asked that he be held without bond, arguing that he poses a danger to the community. Kramer waived a detention hearing but requested a preliminary examination on the criminal complaint, which was scheduled for Sept. 16. The FBI conducted the investigation with assistance from state and local agencies, and the case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Author note: Last updated Sept. 15, 2026.