Utah man indicted on an attempted hate crime charge after threats to blow up a synagogue, and police say they found six pipe bombs at his home

The Justice Department announced the case the way it had planned to, at a press conference in Salt Lake City on Thursday morning, with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak, FBI officials and the Ogden police chief at the table. The indictment itself was returned by a federal grand jury on October 21.

Skyler AJ Rose is 22 and lives in Ogden. According to the allegations in court documents, on December 23, 2025 a social media user later identified as Rose made multiple threatening posts. One of them read, I wanna blow up a synagogue. Investigators traced the posts to an internet address at the home where Rose lived. The FBI brought in the Ogden City Police Department, officers visited the home, and the account was confirmed as his.

What officers say they found on a search warrant is the reason this case is charged as an attempt and not only as threats. The Justice Department lists six improvised explosive pipe bombs, described as functional, one inert device, explosive precursors and components that could be used to build more pipe bombs, a black Samsung cellphone, and two rifles with magazines and ammunition.

The phone is a second part of the case. Under a later warrant, investigators searched it and say they found that in November 2025 Rose had searched the internet for a synagogue near him. They also say the phone contained evidence of child sexual abuse material, including hundreds of cached images and screenshots. Those allegations are part of the federal case announced Thursday.

Rose first appearance is scheduled for October 23 at 1:30 in the afternoon in courtroom 8.4 at the Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse in Salt Lake City, as of October 22. The charges include attempting to commit a hate crime, possession of an unregistered destructive device, and threatening to kill and injure persons and to destroy a building with an explosive, among other counts.

No specific synagogue was named in the announcement as the intended target, and no attack took place. The threat was stopped at the stage of posts, a search history and a set of devices in a house in Ogden. The charges are allegations, and Rose is presumed innocent unless the government proves its case beyond a reasonable doubt.