FBI says source of New Jersey synagogue threat “no longer poses a danger”

One day after the FBI warned there was a “broad threat” to synagogues in New Jersey, the agency said the threat “no longer poses a danger to the community.”

“Upon receipt of threat information against an unspecified New Jersey area synagogue, the FBI notified community leaders and our law enforcement partners,” a spokesperson for the FBI said in a statement to CBS News. “We identified the source of the threat who no longer poses a danger to the community. As always, we would like to remind the public, to remain vigilant and if they observe suspicious activity to report it to law enforcement immediately.”

In a statement Friday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy thanked local and federal law enforcement agencies for their work, but said “this remains a tense time for our Jewish communities who are facing a wave of anti-Semitic activity.”

“We will not be indifferent. We will remain vigilant. We will take any and every threat with the utmost seriousness and we will stand up and stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish congregations,” he wrote.

The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey tweeted that people should “remain vigilant” but that “no heightened state of alert is required.” 

The group said they were notified that a suspect is in custody, but law enforcement agencies have not confirmed that information.

The alert was posted on Thursday after officials discovered an online threat directed broadly at synagogues in New Jersey, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The posting did not target any specific synagogue by name, the official said. 

The warning prompted police across New Jersey to keep a close eye on synagogues, CBS New York reported. Although they were focused on the Garden State, law enforcement officials in several parts of New York, including New York City, also boosted patrols on Thursday.