Joshua Ryne Goldberg

Joshua Ryne Goldberg
Goldberg in 2018
Born (1995-05-14) May 14, 1995 (age 29)
United States
Other namesAustrali Witness, Tanya Cohen, Madotsuki the Dreamer, MoonMetropolis, European88, Michael Slay, AustWitness, AusWitness
Criminal statusReleased
Conviction(s)Attempted malicious damage and destruction of a building using an explosive (18 U.S.C. § 844)
Criminal penalty10 years imprisonment plus lifetime of supervised release
Date apprehended
September 9, 2015

Joshua Ryne Goldberg (born May 14, 1995) is an American internet troll,[1] convicted of attempting a bombing on the 14th anniversary of the September 11 attacks[2] while posing as an Islamic terrorist affiliated with ISIS.[3][4][5]

Goldberg first received law-enforcement and media attention under his Twitter handle "Australi Witness" following the Curtis Culwell Center attack, a terrorist attack on a Garland, Texas exhibit featuring images of Muhammad in May 2015, in which two assailants died in a shootout with police.[2] The "Australi Witness" persona had, posing as a Perth jihadist, called for an attack on, and posted maps of, the center where the exhibit was taking place. "Australi Witness" was retweeted by one of the assailants before the attack, and praised the jihadist attackers in its aftermath.[6] Goldberg claimed credit for the attack;[7] he also allegedly planned terrorist attacks in Australia.[8]

Goldberg had many online identities and spent "huge amounts" of time on the internet.[7] In addition to his accounts that purported to be Islamic terrorism supporters, he made thousands of troll posts under different aliases advocating for liberal feminism, neo-Nazism, and other ideologies. In a 2019 self-published article on Medium, Goldberg admitted to having operated at least 27 different accounts on Reddit alone and many more on other websites, with false online identities on all sides of the ideological spectrum.[9]

Initially charged with distributing information about bomb-making techniques in connection with a planned attack on a 2015 Kansas City 9/11 memorial event,[10] Goldberg's trial was suspended pending efforts by doctors to return him to competence[11] after it emerged that he had a history of mental illness.[12] Goldberg was returned to competency and on December 20, 2017, pleaded guilty to federal charges of attempted malicious damage and destruction by an explosive of a building.[2][13] On June 25, 2018, Goldberg was sentenced to ten years in federal prison and lifetime supervision.[14]

  1. ^ Zavadski, Katie (September 11, 2015). "'Terrorist' Troll Pretended to be ISIS, White Supremacist, and Jewish Lawyer". The Daily Beast.
  2. ^ a b c "Clay County man enters guilty plea to bomb charge". Clay Today. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  3. ^ Justin Wm. Moyer (September 11, 2015). "Florida man plotted Sept. 11 attack on Kansas City, Mo., FBI says". Washington Post. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  4. ^ Jason Dearen, Associated Press (September 11, 2015). "Man Charged in Plot to Bomb Sept. 11 Memorial in Missouri". ABC News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  5. ^ "Jewish man from Florida accused of posing as Australian Isis jihadist". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference smhInterview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference newsComAuGuiltyPleaIncitement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Goldberg, Joshua (January 1, 2019). "First Public Statement From Joshua Goldberg". Medium. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  10. ^ "Officials stop planned terrorist attack in downtown Kansas City". KMZU 100.7 FM. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference incompetentButImproving was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Documents: 9/11 bomb plot suspect had mental illness history". Associated Press. January 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  13. ^ "Clay County Man Enters Guilty Plea To Bomb Charge". www.justice.gov. December 20, 2017.
  14. ^ "Florida Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Federal Prison On Bomb Charge". US Department of Justice. Retrieved June 26, 2018.