A Florida man who had amassed an arsenal, was linked to the shooting up of a Jewish residence and vehicle, and had created a hit-list targeting Black and Jewish targets – including a sitting congressman – was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison last Friday, for a series of firearms offenses.
Margate resident John Kevin Lapinski, Jr. had pled guilty to possession of a firearm as a felon and as a person subject to a court order, possession of an unregistered silencer, and possession of body armor as a violent felon, according to an August 30 statement by the Florida Southern District US Attorney’s Office.
Police responded to reports of shots being fired in a residential neighborhood on October 31 to discover that the 41-year-old was shooting at a target depicting a black male inside his home. Lapinski, who was barred from possessing a firearm due to past felonies, was found to have amassed an armory of five firearms, firearm parts and accessories, over 3,000 ammunition cartridges, two suppressors, body armor, smoke grenades, a Ghillie suit, and tactical gear.
Officers also uncovered a map of local schools, parks, and other community sites “scrawled with racial slurs” and targeting Black and Jewish people. A target list naming groups to attack listed local synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses, and a Jewish member of Congress.
US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said that Lapinski’s plans were not abstract, clearly creating a plan with a map, targets, and a hit list.
“Thanks to the swift work of our law enforcement partners, his plan never became reality,” Quiñones said in a statement. “Instead of carrying out acts of racist violence, he will spend the next quarter-century behind bars. Let this sentence serve as a warning: Hate-fueled violence will be met with decisive federal prosecution. We will disrupt your plans, seize your weapons, and ensure you never endanger the people of this District again.”
A plot to kill Jewish Congressman Jared Moskowitz
Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz had announced in a November 8, 2024, statement that the Margate Police had informed him of a potential plot on his life, sharing details in line with the case.
Moskowitz thanked law enforcement and expressed concern about “congressional member security and the significant lack thereof when we are in the district.”
Further investigations also revealed that Lapinski was connected to an August 2024 shooting of the home and vehicle of a Jewish resident, according to the US Attorney’s Office (USAO) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
The ATF on Friday posted on Facebook that Lapinski’s guilty plea would ensure that “he’s off the streets for a long time.”