A Choctaw County man accused of making threatening phone calls and texts to rabbis and other religious leaders across Alabama and beyond has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from the campaign of intimidation.
Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker entered his plea Tuesday in federal court to charges of interstate threatening communications and stalking. Prosecutors said that in October 2025, Shoemaker called and sent text messages containing threatening language to several religious leaders, including rabbis, in Alabama and in other parts of the country. Federal officials have not publicly detailed the exact content of the messages or named the specific houses of worship or individuals targeted.
When investigators arrested Shoemaker in Choctaw County last year, they reported finding a substantial stockpile of weapons at the location, a discovery that heightened concern among federal agents about the seriousness of the threats he was accused of making. The presence of weapons alongside threatening communications aimed at religious figures is the kind of combination that typically prompts federal prosecutors to pursue charges aggressively, given the potential for real-world violence tied to targeted intimidation campaigns.
Court records indicate that Shoemaker’s mental state became a significant issue in the case well before Tuesday’s plea. Federal agents said Shoemaker’s grandmother told investigators he had been experiencing “spells” in the weeks leading up to his arrest and had stopped taking prescribed medication. Given those concerns, authorities arranged for a psychiatric evaluation before the case could move forward toward trial. Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Beaverstock ultimately ruled in May that Shoemaker was competent to stand trial, clearing the way for the case to proceed.
Shoemaker’s guilty plea was entered “blind,” meaning it came without any agreement from prosecutors to recommend a lighter sentence in exchange for the plea. That distinction matters for defendants because it leaves sentencing entirely in the hands of the judge, without the negotiated sentencing recommendations that often accompany plea agreements. Shoemaker now faces a maximum of five years in prison when he returns to court for sentencing on Nov. 2.
Threats against religious leaders and houses of worship have drawn increased federal attention in recent years, with prosecutors across the country treating interstate threatening communications targeting religious communities as a priority given their potential to chill religious practice and instill fear well beyond the individuals directly targeted. Federal interstate threat statutes carry significant penalties in part because the crime does not require that a threat actually be carried out, only that it was communicated with intent to intimidate or with knowledge that it would be viewed as a genuine threat.
It remains unclear from court filings whether any of the rabbis or religious leaders targeted in Shoemaker’s calls and texts have spoken publicly about the experience. Federal prosecutors have not indicated whether additional charges are possible pending the outcome of the broader investigation into the messages Shoemaker is accused of sending. For now, the case moves toward its final phase, with both Shoemaker’s mental health history and the discovery of weapons at his home likely to factor into the sentencing arguments each side presents in November.