FBI Arrests Pa. Man Accused of Planning ISIS-Inspired Terror Attack

Federal investigators say a 21-year-old Butler County man was preparing an ISIS-inspired attack when agents tracked his movements, watched him buy a firearm and arrested him at a Cranberry Township hotel.

By Kaylyn Greene

Source pennlive.com

Sept. 16, 2026

3 min read

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Federal authorities arrested 21-year-old Jonathan Hunter Kramer of Butler County, Pa., alleging he planned a terrorism-related attack in support of ISIS after purchasing a rifle, ammunition and other equipment.
FBI agents monitored Kramer after receiving tips that he discussed explosives, shared bomb-making materials and sought a weapon to complete a "mission" tied to an online ISIS persona.
Agents arrested Kramer at a hotel after he bought a firearm, and a search uncovered a semiautomatic rifle, magazines, knives and other items; he now faces a federal terrorism-related weapons charge.

A Pittsburgh-area man is facing federal terrorism charges after the FBI determined he was planning an attack in support of ISIS.

According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Jonathan Hunter Kramer, 21, of Valencia, Butler County, was arrested on Sept. 12 after FBI agents determined he could use more than 190 rounds of ammunition and a rifle to commit crimes of terrorism.

Kramer was arrested at a hotel in Cranberry Township.

According to an affidavit, Kramer was already well known to the FBI. According to a criminal affidavit, in 2023, when Kramer was a minor, he was charged and adjudicated delinquent for his role in a plan to commit a mass casualty event and for possessing child sex abuse materials.

On March 19, after Kramer was released from a juvenile detention facility, the FBI said, agents got an anonymous tip that Kramer ordered “mysterious” packages, shared explosives manuals with others and talked about needing a weapon to complete his “mission” in relation to his online persona in ISIS, Hamza Al Rashid.

On Sept. 12, FBI agents watched Kramer leave his home and use a rideshare service to buy a burner phone at a retail store. Kramer was seen meeting with someone in a parking lot, where he picked up a long black bag and checked into a hotel, which officials say he paid for in cash.

Witnesses from the retail store and the hotel said that Kramer’s bag made a “metallic clinking” sound when he put it on the ground. After checking into his hotel, Kramer visited a sporting goods store, where FBI agents watched him purchase a gun.

When he returned to the hotel, FBI agents asked to speak with Kramer, to which he agreed.

The FBI executed a federal search warrant to inspect him, his hotel room and and his home. They found a semiautomatic rifle, five gun magazines, a rifle bipod, a prayer rug, pepper spray and 30 knives in the hotel.

They also found a handwritten note that said, “Don’t look for me IDK what I did but I can’t live in constant Fear.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said in the release that stopping instances like this from coming to fruition is one of the administration’s top priorities.

Richard Evanchec, Special Agent in charge of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, called Kramer’s plans very alarming.

“FBI Pittsburgh and our local, state and federal partners continue to face an elevated threat environment across the region from a variety of terrorism actors,” Evanchec said. “... FBI Pittsburgh and our partners will continue to move swiftly and decisively to counter any individual’s mobilization to violence in the name of a Foreign Terrorist Organization to ensure the safety of our community.”

Kramer was charged with receipt of a firearm knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such firearm would be used to commit a federal crime of Terrorism.

The United States Attorney’s Office is expected to hold a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the arrest further.

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