FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - New details are emerging about an alleged plot to kill a South Florida congressman.
Police seized items, drawings of targeted locations, and a list of targeted people from the defendant’s home.
Margate Police arrested 41-year-old John Lapinski earlier this month after allegedly targeting U.S. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz (FL-23).
Lapinski appeared in court and was charged with possession of a firearm or ammo by a convicted felon.
“You are charged with possession of a weapon or ammo by a convicted felon. Court finds probable cause,” said a judge.
Rep. Moskowitz, who won reelection, said Lapinski 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.”
Investigators said Lapinski had far more than guns and ammunition in his Margate home when they took him into custody for a mental health evaluation back on Oct.31, before his arrest two days later.
A newly released court document lists 42 items including multiple firearms, approximately 3,000 rounds of ammunition, body armor, smoke grenades, firearm accessories and spent shell casings.
The filing, submitted by prosecutors, said Lapinski also had:
Drawings that consisted of local schools, parks and other areas in the Margate/Broward County area, that contained racially derogatory names such as ‘Operation Boy(N-word)’, ‘Operation: Coral Spri-(N-word) High School,’ “Operation: James Brown (N-word),’ and ‘Operation : (N-word) Lauderdale Attack 2.’
And what appeared to be a quote target list, including:
Bar Mitzvah halls, FF (firefighters) Park in Margate, Everglades synagogue, Riverside soccer field, a Jewish sub shop, a Jewish United States Representative named Jared Moskowitz, a Jewish cemetery, other unknown Facebook targets, and an entry to ‘stalk Jewish parks.’
According to Moskowitz’s post on X, Margate Police notified him about the arrest the day before the election on Nov. 5.
The post read in part:
…About a potential plot on my life. The individual in question was arrested not far from my home; he is a former felon who was in possession of a rifle, a suppressor, and body armor. Found with him was a manifesto that, among other things, included antisemitic rhetoric and only my name on the ‘target’ list.
The threat on Moskowitz’s life garnered a bipartisan response from other members of Congress.
“My heart goes out to Jared; we are dear friends,” said fellow Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schulz. “The rhetoric has to be toned down. Quite frankly, as a member of Congress, we should not have to be worried about our family’s safety or about our own safety.”
On Tuesday, Moskowitz, who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, released the following statement:
I’m fine, but I got a family at home that has to deal with all this. There needs to be a serious discussion about member security when we’re back home in our districts.
7News stopped by Lapinski’s home on Tuesday to speak to his sister, with whom he’d been living, but there was no answer at the door.
Lapinski is expected to be back in court on Wednesday.
He is being held at the Broward County Jail.
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