Joshua Ryne Goldberg

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Joshua Ryne Goldberg (born May 14, 1995 ) is an American who became known as an Internet troll who pretended to be a supporter of the Islamic State terror network in Australia under the pseudonym "Australi Witness" and finally for disseminating information about the production arrested by weapons of mass destruction and assisting in preparation for a terrorist attack and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Activities as "Australi Witness"

Until May 2015, Goldberg established an Internet identity as a Lebanese refugee living in Australia , "IS soldier" and " Mujahed " under the Twitter account "Australi Witness", who came into the focus of the media and authorities through public advocacy of terrorism.

In the run-up to an event on Mohammed cartoons in Garland ( Texas ), for example, he called on Twitter to appear there with “weapons, bombs or knives”. After two Muslim men were killed by police officers in the attack on the Curtis Culwell Center , Australi Witness extolled them online as martyrs . He also called for attacks against the Australian cartoonist Larry Pickering , who had also drawn Mohammed. Pickering was temporarily placed under police protection in early 2015 after the attack on Charlie Hebdo . Australi Witness also distributed a 50-page e-book via Twitter to help volunteers who would like to join the Islamic State in the Middle East as fighters. At this point the account had 410 followers .

In retrospect, Australi Witness denied having "explicitly" called for attacks in Texas, but was nevertheless firmly targeted by the Australian investigative authorities, since after a tightening of the law in Australia under Tony Abbott's parliament, it no longer has to be proven that assassins were directly instructed acted as a provocateur. This also made public jihad fantasies or troll contributions potentially punishable. Terror expert Rita Katz , who also acted as an advisor to the US government, suspected a high-ranking person from international jihadist circles who belonged to a "hard core" of people who are constantly recruiting others for attacks behind the account. Andrew Zammit, however, pointed out that fake accounts and anonymity lead to distrust of such accounts. In July 2015, Australi Witness called for several bomb attacks, including on synagogues in Melbourne and Perth .

In addition to public terrorism support, Australi Witness was also responsible for smear campaigns against people and organizations. He claimed to have a connection to the Muslim activist Mariam Veiszadeh and to work for Amnesty International .

In May 2015, a 17-year-old Australian was arrested in Melbourne who had instructions for building a bomb and the associated building materials. Two pipe bombs had already been detonated in a park near his home. The young person had previously had online contacts with Goldberg.

Identity theft

Goldberg could also later be linked to a number of identity thefts. As early as 2008 he began to spread racist hate speech under the name of the American cartoonist Ben Garrison and to distort his caricatures so that they contained anti-Semitic messages. Photos of Garrison were also circulated and his family harassed, particularly through white supremacy circles. Years later, investigators commissioned by Garrison were able to identify Goldberg as the originator of the defamation. Goldberg operated various accounts on the platforms reddit , 4chan and The Daily Stormer , under which he posed as a neo-Nazi and left thousands of anti-Semitic and racist hate posts.

In April 2015, Goldberg set up a blog for the Times of Israel under the name of the well-known lawyer Josh Bornstein , published an inflammatory article in which Bornstein apparently called for the "extermination" of the Palestinians and spread the entry on his Twitter account. The identity theft was initially attributed to American neo-Nazi circles, but could later be attributed to Goldberg through private communications from the account operator. Goldberg also published articles on several well-known websites under the name of activist Tanya Cohen.

The feminist activist Caitlin Roper was imitated by Goldberg after she had given a commitment the computer game Grand Theft Auto V in Australia for violent and sexist to ban content. Goldberg vilified transsexuals under her name . As part of the GamerGate controversy about sexism in computer games, he was heavily involved under his real account and also ran the blog "Philosophy of Rape", where he wrote, among other things: " Whores and Feminazis must be relegated to their place by rape ."

He also set up a fake Facebook profile for the Australian journalist Elise Potaka and a Twitter account under the name of the Muslim preacher Junaid Thorne. Under the name Thornes, he apparently had talks with (potential) jihadists, some of whom declared that they work for Amnesty or other human rights organizations. It later emerged that these jihadist accounts had also been operated by Goldberg himself in order to bring the organizations into disrepute.

Detection and arrest

Potaka and Thorne were the first to connect Goldberg to the fake accounts through their own research. Together with journalist Luke McMahon, Potaka confronted Goldberg online, who bragged about his actions and other troll personas . Their analyzes ultimately led to the connection between Goldberg and the Australi Witness account. Potaka's employer Fairfax Media handed the research over to the Australian Federal Police , which conducted an investigation in June and then turned to the US authorities. An undercover agent of the FBI took beginning July 2015 contact with Goldberg and pretended to be a stop-ready extremist. Between 19 and 28 August 2015 Goldberg was the contact person then multiply information come to construct a bomb allegedly in an attack on September 13, at a memorial service for victims of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in Kansas City used should come. Australi Witness also announced the explosion of the bomb by email to the operators of a BBC News blog at the end of August . Although the message also contained ridiculous and obviously fabricated content, the recipients forwarded it to the police.

On September 11, 2015 Goldberg was for further investigations in Orange Park ( Florida arrested) at his residence in the house of his parents. He confessed to being responsible for the “Australi Witness”, “AusWitness” and “AusSecret” accounts.

Motivations

Goldberg, whose parents are Jewish , apparently had no real connection to Islamist terrorism or its goals. Regarding the planned attack, he stated that he had hoped that the potential bomber would blow himself up while the bomb was being built, otherwise he would have informed the authorities and wanted to claim the credit for preventing the attack.

Goldberg had already attracted attention as an internet troll in the years before and was excluded from several online communities. He identified himself as an advocate of absolute freedom of expression . He believed that many of the victims of his identity theft and defamation were enemies of this freedom of expression. He also chose Australia because, in his opinion, it restricts the freedom of expression the most in the entire English-speaking area. According to his own statements, he suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression . The court then ordered pre-trial detention and a psychiatric examination to check Goldberg's suitability for litigation .

In December the court ruled that Goldberg, who had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and anxiety disorders , suffered from delusions of persecution and megalomania and was incapable of litigation. Another four month observation period for his mental state was ordered.

Goldberg's mental state was re-examined on June 15, 2016 and has been described as "better" by prison psychiatrists. There is a "good chance" that he will be able to stand trial again. Another status update was planned for October 15, 2016. Goldberg's attorney Paul Shorstein later claimed that Goldberg had Asperger's Syndrome and had been diagnosed with clinical depression. Goldberg's defense later claimed that Goldberg had autism, wanted to become a journalist , and had made "impressive" journalistic progress in his trolling activities. On December 20, 2017, Goldberg pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida to attempting malicious damage and destruction by explosives on a building. According to the plea, Goldberg also said he was planning a terrorist attack in Melbourne , Australia. On 25 June 2018 Goldberg was in Federal Correctional Complex, Butner in North Carolina , was sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by lifelong parole after his release.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Man charged in plot to bomb Sept. 11 memorial in Missouri . The Seattle Times, September 11, 2015
  2. ↑ a b c Keyboard warrior: Anzac terror plot accused Sevdet Besim allegedly guided online . The Sidney Morning Herald, May 10, 2015
  3. ↑ a b Online jihadist hails power of social media after Texas attack . The Sidney Morning Herald, May 6, 2015
  4. ^ Australian ISIS supporter tweets tips and threats following Garland Texas shootings . Australian Times, May 5, 2015
  5. ↑ Australian cartoonist Larry Pickering placed under police protection . The Age, Jan. 13, 2015
  6. ↑ Melbourne man posts Islamic State guide . Sky News, May 5, 2015
  7. ↑ a b c d e Unmasking a troll: Aussie 'jihadist' Australi Witness a 20-year-old American nerd . The Sidney Morning Herald, September 11, 2015
  8. ↑ Hello, I'm Australi Witness . Published on justpaste.it on June 9, 2015
  9. ↑ a b c FBI says 'Australian IS jihadist' is actually a Jewish American troll named Joshua Ryne Goldberg . The Sidney Morning Herald, September 11, 2015
  10. ↑ Melbourne teenager pleads guilty to planning terrorist attack . Herald Sun, Jan. 29, 2015
  11. ^ A b Neo-Nazi, radical feminist and violent jihadist - all at once . BBC Trending, September 21, 2015
  12. ↑ a b c Joshua Goldberg, the fake Aussie jihadist, had a hand in every online fight . Sidney Morning Herald, September 13, 2015
  13. ↑ How lawyer Josh Bornstein's stolen identity was used to spread race hate . Australian Financial Review, May 6, 2015
  14. ↑ Florida man accused of bomb plot at 9/11 memorial, FBI says . Fox 6 News, September 11, 2015
  15. ↑ Florida is accused in Kansas City 9/11 memorial plot to remain in custody . Reuters, September 15, 2015
  16. ↑ Orange Park is accused of terrorism found incompetent to stand trial . The Florida Times Union, December 14, 2015
  17. ↑ Documents: 9/11 bomb plot suspect had mental illness history . Associated Press, Jan. 25, 2016
  18. ↑ Larry Hannan: Orange Park man accused of terrorism still incompetent, but doctors say he's getting better . In: The Florida Times-Union . June 15, 2016.
  19. ↑ Orange Park online troll who encouraged ISIS attacks pleads guilty (en) . In: The Florida Times Union-Jacksonville.com . 
  20. ↑ Joshua Ryne Goldberg's motivation revealed in US court as he claimed to be an online Australia-based jihadist (en) . In: Herald Sun . 
  21. ↑ Clay County man enters guilty plea to bomb charge (en) . In: Clay Today . 
  22. ↑ Internet troll Joshua Goldberg attempted to incite terror attacks in Melbourne (en) . In: news.com.au . 
  23. ↑ US terror troll who targeted Melbourne jailed for a decade , The Herald Sun , June 25, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Goldberg, Joshua Ryne
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American internet troll
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century