A man who was discharged from the Marine Corps on Friday after serving for less than a year was arrested Monday for making online threats to kill white people.
Former Pfc. Joshua Cobb, 23, of Trenton, New Jersey, was charged via complaint with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said in a news release.
Records of the alleged threats start in December 2022, when a social media user with an IP address linked to Cobb’s residence in New Jersey declared he was planning to “erase” white people in a shooting, according to the complaint.
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“I want to cause mayhem on the white community,” the user wrote. “The reason i specifically want to target white people is because as a black male, they will NEVER understand my struggles.”
On another social platform, a user who went by the name “1dayUsuffer” posted in spring 2023 of his hope of becoming a serial killer.
The user made several posts expressing a desire to commit mass violence, and said the posts would serve as “evidence” and “clues” for “when im done.”
“I’d probably (overdose) on my own adrenaline after the 10th body goes down,” he wrote in one post.
In another post, the user said he had killed his cat with a crossbow.
“Very bloody scene and I loved it,” he wrote.
The user described a family history of schizophrenia but said he refused to get evaluated lest he lose his firearms license.
FBI agents later used IP addresses and other clues to link Cobb to the account, the complaint said.
In June 2023, Cobb started boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, Marine spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Giselle Cancino said in an emailed statement to Marine Corps Times on Tuesday. He became a private first class in September 2023.
He checked into Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, in February, as a rifleman with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, according to Cancino.
FBI agents seized Cobb’s phone and interviewed him on the California base April 2, according to the complaint.
During the interview, Cobb admitted he had written the posts, and he specified the gym and grocery store he had considered as targets for an attack, the complaint said. He told the FBI agents he had access to guns through people he knew, including a relative who legally owned firearms.
When FBI agents informed him that his cellphone was being seized, Cobb became irate and said, “These are the things that make someone want to do the things we talked about,” according to the complaint.
On his phone were notes from April 2023 and May 2023 expressing his desire to kill and detailing how to bring guns into New Jersey, according to the complaint.
The Marine Corps discharged Cobb on Friday, according to Cancino, who did not specify the nature of the discharge. During his brief time in the Marine Corps, Cobb received a Certificate of Commendation but no personal awards, and he did not deploy, the spokeswoman said.
Cobb has been in federal custody since his arrest Monday, according to court records. His bail hearing is set to occur this Friday.
He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the news release.
Saverio Viggiano, a federal public defender with the District of New Jersey who is representing Cobb, said the public defender office doesn’t comment on cases.
Irene Loewenson is a staff reporter for Marine Corps Times. She joined Military Times as an editorial fellow in August 2022. She is a graduate of Williams College, where she was the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper.
