Joshua Ryne Goldberg

Joshua Ryne Goldberg (born May 14, 1995) is an American internet troll, convicted of attempting a bombing on the 14th anniversary of the September 11 attacks while posing as an Islamic terrorist affiliated with ISIS.

Goldberg first received law-enforcement and media attention under his Twitter handle "Australi Witness" following the Curtis Culwell Center attack, a terrorist attack on a Garland, Texas exhibit featuring images of Muhammad in May 2015, in which two assailants died in a shootout with police. The "Australi Witness" persona, had, posing as a Perth jihadist, called for an attack on, and posted maps of, the center where the exhibit was taking place, praised the jihadist attackers in its aftermath, and was retweeted by one of the assailants before the attack. He claimed credit for the attack. Goldberg also planned terrorist attacks in Australia.

Goldberg had many online identities and spent virtually all of his time on the internet. In addition to promoting terrorism, he made thousands of troll posts advocating for liberal feminism, neo-Nazism, and other ideologies.

Initially charged with distributing information about bomb-making techniques in connection with a planned attack on a 2015 Kansas City 9/11 memorial event, Goldberg's trial was suspended pending efforts by doctors to return him to competence after it emerged that he had a history of mental illness. Goldberg was returned to competency and on December 20, 2017 pleaded guilty to federal charges of attempted malicious damage and destruction by an explosive of a building. On June 25, 2018, Goldberg was sentenced to ten years in federal prison and lifetime supervision.