A 27-year-old Chandler, Arizona man is facing felony charges after Maricopa County prosecutors alleged he laid out a detailed plan for a mass-casualty attack on a Jewish or Muslim house of worship, complete with explosives followed by an accomplice tasked with “picking off people” with firearms.
Matthew Bjornholt appeared in Maricopa County Superior Court on October 16–18, 2026, on a charge of making a terrorist threat.
According to FOX 10 Phoenix’s October 16 report, prosecutors alleged that Bjornholt discussed using bombs and firearms to inflict mass casualties at a religious facility.
Even more alarming, prosecutors claimed Bjornholt possessed a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook, an infamous manual containing instructions for constructing explosives that has been associated with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
Prosecutors alleged Bjornholt referred to the book as his “Bible.”
During Friday’s court appearance, Maricopa County prosecutor Stephen Garcia requested a $500,000 cash bond, arguing that Bjornholt posed an imminent danger to the community.
