A Kansas man is in the Palm Beach County Jail after the Sheriff's Office said he made antisemitic death threats against Ben Shapiro, the conservative political commentator.
Korby Strube is being held without bail and faces 23 counts of making written threats to kill after an investigation found he posted multiple threats against Shapiro, according to an arrest affidavit.
Prosecutors alleged religion was a motivating factor in Strube's threats and enhanced each charge under Florida’s hate-crime reclassification law to a first-degree felony from a second-degree one. He would face a sentence of up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Circuit Judge Dane Leitner denied Strube bail during a hearing at the county jail on Sept. 13. The county Public Defender's
Office is representing him, according to court files. As a policy, it does not comment on open cases.
Threats included countdown to attack on Yom Kippur, PBSO says
Deputies learned of the posts on Aug. 4 through Fortified Risk Group, a private company that provides protective services to Shapiro, according to the arrest affidavit. It said Shapiro's family has a residence in Palm Beach County but does not specify where.
Shapiro told investigators he is Jewish, a fact that is public known, and that he "believes that the threats directed at him were motivated, at least in part, by his Jewish faith," according to the arrest affidavit.
His views have made him popular with many conservatives but also brought him scorn on social media for years.
After reviewing the reports and viewing Strube's X account, formerly Twitter, investigators learned that he had posted several threats against Shapiro between July 31 and Aug. 2.
Authorities said the posts included a countdown to killings leading up to Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which begins at sundown Sunday, Sept. 21, and runs until sundown on Monday, Sept. 22.
A U.S. Secret Service special agent interviewed Strube at his parents' residence in Kansas. Strube admitted to writing the posts, according to the arrest affidavit.
Strube displayed signs of paranoia but had no documented history of psychiatric treatment, the agent said.
Valentina Palm covers immigration and breaking news for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Antisemitic death threats against Ben Shapiro land Kansas man in jail
