Pennsylvania man caught with child porn, antisemitic mass attack plans
The arrested man, a 20-year-old, had made statements online about his interest in “political and revenge-driven” mass casualty events, drawing inspiration from the 2018 Tree of Life attack.
A 20-year-old male resident of the western Pennsylvania town of Glenwillard has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on possession charges of child exploitative content, according to the US Justice Department. The defendant was also in possession of antisemitic and extremist hate-driven content and a cache of firearms.
On Monday, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced the one-count indictment against Aidan Harding, 20.
Information presented to the court, as well as the indictment, state that around December 11, 2024, Harding had material showing the sexual exploitation of a minor, including video content. The video content contained sexual abuse of minors pre-puberty, emphasizing a young age.
Just over a month later, Harding was charged and detained. On February 12, 2025, at a detention hearing, he was ordered to be held without bond pending trial. Additional evidence was allegedly presented by federal authorities, stating additional material was found depicting violent sexual assaults.
Posing a threat to his community in several ways
Authorities presented a case in which Harding presented an “unacceptable danger to the community” — for more than just child pornography. Evidence gathered included threats to carry out “political and revenge-driven” mass casualty events, particularly targeting the Jewish community. He adhered to racially motivated extremist ideology and had more than 20 firearms in his possession, including fliers targeting Pittsburgh’s Jewish community.
In his targeting of the Pittsburgh Jewish community in his rhetoric, he reportedly distributed antisemitic fliers and made statements online about his interest in “political and revenge-driven” mass casualty events. According to the indictment, this included references to the shooter who murdered 11 congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
The 20-year-old reportedly made a series of terroristic threats and had discussed a desire to commit a “high kill” attack. The indictment also said he had filmed himself re-enacting the Columbine shooting at a memorial for the 1999 high school shooting. He also allegedly had videos of violent events of that nature in his possession.
He may be sentenced with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
The FBI was also part of the investigation ahead of the indictment. This came as part of an effort from Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative in the US in 2006 through the Department of Justice to combat the distribution of child exploitation and abuse content.