Buxton Man Sentenced for Threats Against the Jewish Community

PORTLAND — A Buxton man who posted anti-Semitic threats on social media was sentenced today (April 18) in a federal court for transmitting a threatening interstate communication.

U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Brian Dennison, 27, to 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maine.

Dennison was found guilty by a federal jury in December.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, evidence presented at the December trial showed that Dennison, on Sept. 8, 2021, posted on Twitter, “I’m going to kill jews with my ar15 tomorrow.”

After identifying Dennison as the author of the post, FBI investigators executed a search warrant at Dennison’s property in Buxton and seized approximately 1,700 rounds of ammunition that could be fired from an AR-15-style rifle, according to the press release. Investigators also found evidence that Dennison had long-standing hostile feelings toward Jewish people. During another search of the property in October 2021, investigators found an AR-15-style rifle and ammunition in a case that had been hidden in the woods behind the residence.

“Brian Dennison communicated his violent anti-Semitic threat on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year celebration,” said Darcie McElwee, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine in a written statement. “Such repugnant threats have no place in any society. I commend the FBI for its excellent investigative work in this case. Under the First Amendment, you have a right to believe hateful things, and to express those hateful beliefs in lawful ways. But when your speech constitutes a true threat to kill or injure others, you will be held accountable.”

Levy, in imposing the sentence, noted that threats like the one Dennison made are corrosive and strain the fiber of our country, according to the press release. He also noted that the core liberties enshrined in the Constitution are undermined by threats based on someone’s faith.

“Hate has no place here in Maine, and the fact that Mr. Dennison had the actual means to carry out his articulated threat is chilling. Protecting human life is our absolute priority, and the FBI stands ready to intervene whenever threatening language crosses the line into illegal activity,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, in a written statement.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at [email protected].