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Potential Plot to Assassinate Rep. Jared Moskowitz Uncovered in Margate; Suspect With Rifle Arrested

U.S. Rep Jared Moskowitz.

A Margate man arrested before Tuesday’s election was allegedly plotting to assassinate Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fl.), the congressman said Friday.

Moskowitz, a Parkland resident, said in a written statement that Margate Police notified him Nov. 4 “about a potential plot on my life” by a possible would-be assassin police had “arrested not far from my home.”

At the time of his arrest, the suspect was in possession of a rifle and body armor along with “a manifesto that, among other things, included antisemitic rhetoric and only my name on the ‘target’ list,” wrote Moskowitz, who is Jewish.

Margate Police on Friday night identified the arrested suspect as John Lapinski, 41, and said in court papers they found six guns inside his home, including a Palmetto State Armory Liberty 15 rifle.

John Lapinski {BSO}

Lapinski was charged on Nov. 2 with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and violating a domestic violence injunction. Records show he was being held without bond at the Broward County Jail Friday, awaiting a transfer to federal custody.

“During the investigation, our detectives located several firearms and evidence that indicated [Lapinski] may have been planning some type of criminal act,” Margate Police said in a written statement Friday, declining further comment.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is leading the investigation, police said.

Last weekend, Margate Talk learned there was an active police investigation near Lapinski’s home in the 6000 block of Northwest 10th Court in Paradise Gardens. Police at the time said there had been an “isolated incident” at the home but declined to release the arrest affidavit, citing a need to protect investigative information.

Court records released Friday show Margate Police responded to a call about gunshots being fired near Lapinski’s home around 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 31.

Officers spoke with a female relative of Lapinski’s, who told them he frequently fired his gun in the home’s backyard, records state. She let them inside the home as they investigated the gunshots, police said, and Lapinski later surrendered.

Lapinksi met the criteria for a mental health detainment under Florida’s Baker Act and was placed in protective custody, police said.

Inside Lapinski’s home police said they found six guns: a tactical FD12 shotgun, a Remington 1148 shotgun, a Browning 16 shotgun, two handguns, and the Palmetto State Armory Liberty 15 rifle, records state.

Police also discovered a long black rifle bag on a bedroom floor, body armor, gun silencers, numerous parts for handguns and rifles, a large amount of ammunition, and various “molds” used for creating homemade guns, the arrest affidavit states.

Other objects found in the home included a safe to hold long guns, gun cleaning equipment, and a “man-made target” built from a weighted bucket and wooden plank, records show.

Lapinski has prior felony convictions for grand theft and resisting an officer with violence in Lake County, police said. He also has an active restraining order stemming from a 2017 domestic violence case in Broward County, records show.

“There are many other details that I will not disclose as I do not want to interfere with an ongoing investigation,” Moskowitz said of the case Friday. “Serving my constituents is a great honor, but it has put my family in danger.”

The congressman thanked local law enforcement along with the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the U.S. Attorney’s office for their roles in thwarting the potential plot on his life.

“As someone who was appointed to the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, I understand the failures and importance of fixing the protection of our current and future Commander-In-Chief and Vice President,” Moskowitz wrote. “At the same time, I am deeply worried about Congressional member security and the significant lack thereof when we are in the district. Regardless of our political affiliations or differences, we all have families we want to keep safe.”

Moskowitz was sworn into office as a U.S. Representative in January 2023. His district includes Parkland, Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, and parts of Margate.

The congressman was a Parkland city commissioner from 2006 to 2012 when he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. While in the state legislature, he helped draft and advance the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Safety Act, which addressed gun safety, mental health, and school security reform.

In 2019, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Moskowitz as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. He oversaw the state’s COVID response before DeSantis appointed him to the Broward County Commission’s 8th District seat in 2022.

That same year, he won the congressional seat formerly held by Rep. Ted Deutch.

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.