FBI Arrests Man Plotting to Firebomb LA Chabad Preschool

Federal agents have arrested a 51-year-old Los Angeles man suspected of planning a Molotov cocktail attack on JEMS Preschool, a Chabad early childhood program in the Los Feliz neighborhood, according to a report in the New York Post.

Steven Carlos Dueñas lives in Los Feliz, not far from the preschool, which is part of Chabad of Greater Los Feliz and is directed by shluchim Rabbi Leibel and Dvonye Korf. The program serves children as young as 18 months.

According to the federal complaint, investigators began focusing on Dueñas after a series of disturbing posts he published on X last month.

In one post dated September 19, he shared a photo of a Molotov cocktail he had made, in front of a television screen showing footage of the September 11 attacks, with the caption, “Don’t just watch the war, take part in it.” Later that evening, he reportedly posted again, writing, “Bottle number two tonight.”

Other posts were more direct. “Not enough synagogues have burned,” he wrote in one post, and in another, “I got some Tomahawk missiles on Facebook Marketplace, maybe I’ll blow up the gan later.” In a separate post, he expressed support for the Houthis.

Several days ago, at 4:30 a.m., FBI agents raided the home Dueñas shares with his mother. They found materials for assembling incendiary devices, including a glass bottle filled with gasoline.

Dueñas was arrested and faces federal charges related to the threats and the alleged possession of an illegal destructive device. His next court date is scheduled for November 10.