It has been 235 years since the First Amendment was ratified, but battles over its protections are still fought in courtrooms every day. Despite guaranteeing the right to free speech, it does not protect someone who has made what courts deem "true threats." Anyone who decides to publicly taunt the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) while hinting at committing a mass shooting on social media runs the risk of getting a lot of attention. Just probably not the kind they were hoping for.
A criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio on March 18, 2026, charged a Medina County man with charges of making interstate threats and unlawful possession of a firearm while using a controlled substance. Wyatt James Brzoska allegedly posted numerous TikTok videos of himself posing in tactical gear and brandishing firearms and other weapons while making threats about a nearby mosque. The 20-year-old also made numerous references to violent cults and Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 members of a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
The federal charges against Brzoska offer a glimpse into how law enforcement attempts to prevent terrorist activities by both individuals and extremist groups through the application of statutes that don't run afoul of First Amendment protections. Whether Brzoska, who posted a video of himself in front of a mosque with the text "You will feel it," would have followed through on his threatening behavior can't be known, but law enforcement and federal prosecutors felt it best not to leave it up to him.
Oh, Those Guns
The First Amendment protects a number of citizens' rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceful protest. It's also renowned for providing the right to free speech. While numerous U.S. Supreme Court decisions have further reinforced free speech protections, they don't cover every situation. In cases of so-called "true threats," where a speaker communicates a serious threat of unlawful violence to a person or group, and at least recklessly disregards a substantial risk that the statement will be viewed as a threat, First Amendment rights may not apply.
Determining when First Amendment protections are applicable can be difficult. What if the accused says that they were just joking? An anonymous tip was sent to the FBI's National Threat Operations Center in November 2025, alleging someone had posed with a gun and threatened to shoot up a mosque on social media. After making an Emergency Disclosure Request (EDR) to TikTok and Apple, the FBI determined the anonymous account belonged to Brzoska.
Medina County Sheriff's deputies promptly paid a visit to Brzoska at his mother's house in Valley City, Ohio. Brzoska claimed he was kidding and just trying to get a reaction out of Muslims. Producing a BB gun that he said was used in the video, Brzoska claimed not to own any firearms.
Perhaps emboldened by the lack of any charges at the time, Brzoska replaced the video in question with two new ones the following week. One featured an AI-generated man dancing in front of a Black Sun image, which is considered a symbol of Nazi Germany and was worn prominently by Tarrant during his attacks. He tagged his video with "#09a," believed to be a reference to a violent and terroristic cult known as the Order of the Nine Angles, and he also added a caption that asked, "Hello FBI would you say this post is worthy of you raiding my house again?"
A day later, Brzoska posted a video showing him smoking what appeared to be marijuana in the break room at his job. Text overlays included another "#09a" reference along with "For this thanksgiving [sic] I'm thinking instead of turkey I'm going to cook 51 kebabs," with the number believed to be indicative of the number of Muslim victims murdered by Tarrant.
This did indeed earn him a visit from the FBI on November 26. Maintaining that he'd just been joking, Brzoska admitted that he didn't like Muslims and that he usually smoked marijuana twice a day, along with taking ketamine as part of his therapy treatment. When the FBI cautioned Brzoska's mother to keep her firearms locked in a safe, she responded, "Okay, but what about his guns?"
At this point, Brzoska admitted that he, in fact, owned several firearms, including an AR-15-style long gun, a pair of shotguns, and a bolt-action rifle, but only used them to shoot at a berm behind his house. He claimed he would delete his TikTok account and stay offline as much as possible. Once again, he was not charged.
In March 2026, the FBI received a tip from a nonprofit organization that monitors social media for extremist activity. Although the TikTok account in question had a different user handle, agents were able to determine from the content that it was Brzoska. In addition to multiple posts showing him brandishing weapons and asking his followers which of three World War II-era Nazi Germany helmets he should wear, Brzoska uploaded a video showing him wearing military fatigues while sitting in his car and zooming in on a mosque with a text overlay of "You will feel it."
Videos posted on Brzoska's account the following day included images of himself and Tarrant rapidly switching back and forth, until it appeared the two were merging into one person. He also included a picture of himself holding a long gun with red text that stated, "FORWARD THE PURIFICATION." The FBI filed a criminal complaint the following day, on March 13.
That Pesky Controlled Substances Act
Brzoska is facing two federal charges for his posts, although one is perhaps not as straightforward as expected. His threats made during his TikTok videos, along with his apparent desire to be another Brenton Tarrant and his collection of weapons, provide probable cause for interstate threats to injure another person or persons under federal law.
The arrest warrant also charges Brzoska, as an unlawful user of a controlled substance, with being in unlawful possession of firearms or ammunition shipped or transported interstate. Marijuana, which Brzoska brazenly posted himself using, is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law. While adult-use marijuana is legal in Ohio for those 21 and older, Brzoska was under the legal age at 20.
How the case resolves remains to be seen. Fortunately, an event held on March 14 by the mosque shown by Brzoska occurred without incident.
Related Resources
- What Are Terroristic Threats? (FindLaw's Criminal Charges)
- Can the FBI Access My Browsing History? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Third Circuit Re-Examines First Amendment True Threat Exemption (FindLaw's Federal Courts)
