Kansas Man Arrested for Plotting Assassination of Commentator Ben Shapiro
A Kansas man was arrested in Florida for plotting to assassinate conservative commentator Ben Shapiro on Yom Kippur, alongside threats against Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.
A 29-year-old Kansas man, Colby Aaron Strob, has been arrested in Palm Beach County, Florida, on charges of orchestrating a detailed online assassination campaign against conservative Jewish-American commentator Ben Shapiro, who resides in the county. According to investigative documents, Strob published a series of inciting posts on X featuring severe antisemitic remarks and a countdown targeting Yom Kippur, alongside similar threats directed at U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Investigation and Threats Discovered
The case came to light after the intelligence team of Shapiro's private security detail identified a series of alarming messages posted between late July and early August. Strob explicitly wrote that he intended to murder Shapiro "for being a Jewish person," accompanying the posts with a countdown of "52 days" and "51 days"—a mathematical calculation leading directly to September, coinciding with Yom Kippur. Shapiro confirmed to investigators that he viewed the threats as concrete and timed, stemming directly from his Jewish identity.
"The severity of the current case is heightened by the combination of a distinct antisemitic ideological motive and the setting of a symbolic execution date during the holiest day for the Jewish people."
Arrest and Extended Charges
The investigation expanded rapidly when it became clear that Strob had also threatened Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, podcast host Joe Rogan, and members of the Obama family. Following the threat against Trump, the U.S. Secret Service intervened, raiding Strob's Kansas home on August 4, where he admitted to publishing the posts. Cross-referencing digital data from X, Google, and Starlink helped solidify the evidence, and on September 12, he was tracked down and arrested in Florida.
Strob faces 25 criminal counts, including 23 hate crime enhancements based on religious bias. A Florida judge ordered him held without bond pending trial.
