Woman, minor charged with plotting attack on Houston synagogue ‘to kill as many Jews as possible’

Law enforcement arrests 18-year-old in North Carolina and a 16-year-old in Texas for planning car ramming attack on Congregation Beth Israel

A North Carolina woman has been charged with participating in a conspiracy to attack members of a Texas synagogue designed to “kill as many Jews as possible by driving through a congregation,” according to court documents.

Angelina Han Hicks, 18, of Lexington, was being held Thursday at the Davidson County jail in North Carolina under a $10 million bond, jail records show.

Hicks was arrested Wednesday and formally charged with conspiring with two men to commit murder and assault at Congregation Beth Israel in Houston on April 21, 2028, according to warrants laying out two felony counts against her.

The FBI office in Charlotte said in a social media post that a juvenile was also arrested in relation to the plot and charged in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. There was no immediate information on whether the juvenile was one of the two male subjects identified in Hicks’ warrants, which listed only their first names and noted their last names as “unknown

A Houston Police Department news release announced a 16-year-old being arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder related to “a threat directed towards certain Jewish institutions in our area” that the agency learned about Wednesday. The department didn’t identify Congregation Beth Israel specifically. The FBI and the Houston school district police department assisted in the arrest.

“At this time, there is no other known credible threat,” the release said.

Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue, and the Shlenker School, a preschool and elementary school, had decided to close its campuses on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution” before reopening Thursday, with the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston stressing “the safety and security of the Houston Jewish community is of utmost importance to all of us.”

“This situation is fluid, ongoing, and under investigation,” the federation said. “After significant discussions with both the FBI and HPD, we have been advised that it is safe for other local Jewish institutions to remain open. Local law enforcement agencies are increasing patrols around Houston-area Jewish institutions.”

The FBI said its Charlotte Joint Terrorism Task Force began the investigation Tuesday evening after a tip to a North Carolina law enforcement agency.

Explaining why Hicks’ detention was necessary, District Court Judge Carlton Terry wrote Wednesday that the two other suspects had not been arrested and that the alleged “conspiracy is to kill as many Jews as possible by driving through a congregation at a synagogue.”

“Allowing a co-conspirator a chance to communicate with either of those individuals or those who could relay a message puts lives at risk,” Terry added.

While Hicks’ warrants point to a potential attack two years from now, Davidson County senior assistant district attorney Alan Martin said in an interview that there had been “some concern that there could be an imminent event” targeting the Houston synagogue.

A potential motive for the planned violence wasn’t immediately disclosed in North Carolina court documents. Martin said Thursday, “At this point, I have no idea” why Congregation Beth Israel — over 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) from Lexington — would have been targeted. The investigation is continuing.

Attempts to speak by phone with Hicks’ court-appointed attorney were unsuccessful early Thursday. The lawyer, Chad Freeman, told the Houston Chronicle that the case was in its early stages and Hicks’ youth could be a factor in her defense.

“I anticipate getting numerous experts involved in the case to look at both investigatory and possible forensic matters,” Freeman told the newspaper. Her next scheduled hearing is May 13.

Congregational Beth Israel is the oldest Jewish house of worship in Texas, founded in the 1850s. It also operates a school going up to fifth grade.

The incident comes as security experts have warned of continued elevation of threats to global Jewish communities amid the Iran war, and it follows an attack on a Detroit-area synagogue last month by a man who had expressed sympathy for Hezbollah.

The US has also seen a significant rise in antisemitic attacks since the October, 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.