The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed charges for an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a mosque.
According to the Venice Gondolier, information from the FBI detailed communications on a social media platform regarding “obtaining weapons and conducting a mass shooting at a Mosque, discussing a mass shooting in San Francisco and glorifying other mass shootings.”
Giovanni Pimienta, 19, is charged with sending, posting or transmitting a written or electronic threat to kill or do bodily harm and making a false report concerning of a bomb, explosive or weapon of mass destruction or the use of a firearm in a violent manner.
He reportedly came to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s attention because of his alleged online conversations about a mass shooting at a mosque. Later, it was reportedly learned that he had a “grievance” against a local church.
Cops: Man talked about ‘shooting up a mosque’
CAIR-FL Communications Director Wilfredo Ruiz said:
“We welcome this arrest and commend law enforcement for taking these alleged threats seriously before anyone could be harmed. A threat to carry out a mass shooting at a house of worship is not something that can be dismissed as empty rhetoric. It demands a serious investigation, accountability under the law, and continued vigilance to ensure that Muslim worshippers and all people of faith can gather without fear.”
He noted that Washington, D.C.-based CAIR recently said it has documented 17 incidents targeting Islamic places of worship in May, June, and July to date. The 17 incidents represent 51 percent of the previous year’s total and a 183 percent increase over the same three-month period last year, during which CAIR documented six such incidents.
Washington, D.C.-based CAIR offers a “Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety” booklet, which offers advice on how to help keep religious facilities safe. The advice in the booklet is applicable to houses of worship of all faiths.
CAIR’s latest civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025 – the highest number ever recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]; CAIR-Florida Communications Director Wilfredo A. Ruiz, 305-502-6749, [email protected]