POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A U.S. congressman from South Florida said a man who was arrested made a chilling threat against him.
U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that Margate Police notified him on Monday about “a potential plot on my life.”
The Democratic lawmaker, who won reelection, said the man allegedly behind the plot was arrested near his home. In his X post, he wrote that the man in question “is a former felon who was in possession of a rifle, a suppressor, and body armor.”
Furthermore, Moskowitz wrote, the man was found with “a manifesto that, among other things, included antisemitic rhetoric and only my name on the ‘target’ list.”
Margate Police said they arrested 41-year-old John Lapinski earlier this month for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Following an investigation, detectives said, they found several firearms and said he may have been planning some type of criminal act, and they turned over the investigation to the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. However, they did not indicate whether it was related to Moskowitz.
Moskowitz was appointed to the bipartisan task force on the assassination attempy of President-elect Donald Trump. He said he’s not only worried about the commander in chief’s safety, but also the security of congressmembers when they are not in the Capitol, adding, “We all have families we’d like to keep safe.”
Lapinski is being held at the Joseph V. Conte Detention Facility in Pompano Beach on a U.S. Marshals hold.
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