Alexander Lightner
Alexander Lightner is a Venice, Florida Terrorgram Collective member who threatened a mass casualty event in a private Terrorgram chat in December 2023, was arrested by the FBI in January 2024, and was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a self-made firearm silencer.
Alexander Lightner (born approximately 1997, Venice, Florida) was a member of the Terrorgram Collective who on December 29, 2023, made several threatening posts in an exclusive Terrorgram chat conveying his intent to commit violent acts motivated by far-right extremist ideology, including the phrases "2024 there shall be saints" and "Highscore shall be defeated" (a reference to surpassing the casualty count of previous far-right mass shooters). He was arrested by the FBI in January 2024, charged initially with interstate transmission of a threat to injure and unlawful possession of a silencer, and sentenced to 51 months (4 years, 3 months) in federal prison on June 12, 2025, by the Middle District of Florida after pleading guilty on March 11, 2025, to the firearm count.1
Arrest and Evidence
Federal agents executed a search warrant at Lightner's Venice residence within approximately a week of the December 2023 posts. The search recovered a self-made firearm silencer, several firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, a copy of Mein Kampf, and extremist literature with detailed descriptions of mass shooting events praising historical white supremacist killers. When interviewed by law enforcement, Lightner admitted the silencer was his and that he had manufactured it himself. He also admitted to making the threatening Telegram posts.
The original indictment, filed January 2024 in the Middle District of Florida with a terrorism enhancement applied, charged Lightner with two counts: interstate transmission of a threat to injure (the threatening Terrorgram messages) and unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm (the silencer). The threat charge carried up to five years and the silencer charge up to ten, for a combined original maximum of fifteen years.
Plea and Sentencing
Lightner pleaded guilty on March 11, 2025, to the unregistered firearm count only. The threat-related charge was resolved through the plea agreement. The Middle District of Florida DOJ press release characterizing him as a Terrorgram Collective member at sentencing was among the first federal filings to publicly attach the Terrorgram label to the Florida case.
On June 12, 2025, Lightner, then 27, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison. The sentence reflected his membership in the Terrorgram network and his possession of materials indicating operational intent (the silencer, ammunition, and extremist attack literature), even though the prosecution proceeded only on the firearm count.2
Sources
- U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-MDFL. "Venice Man Charged With Threatening To Commit A Mass Casualty Event And Unlawful Possession Of A Silencer." January 2024. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/venice-man-charged-threatening-commit-mass-casualty-event-and-unlawful-possession; CNN. "FBI arrests Florida man accused of threatening 'mass casualty event.'" January 10, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/10/us/fbi-florida-man-threatening-mass-casualty-event/index.html ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-MDFL. "Terrorgram Member Sentenced To 51 Months In Prison For Possessing An Unregistered Firearm." June 12, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/terrorgram-member-sentenced-51-months-prison-possessing-unregistered-firearm; WGCU. "Venice-based Terrorgram member sentenced to 51 months in prison." June 12, 2025. https://www.wgcu.org/section/crime/2025-06-12/venice-based-terrorgram-member-sentenced-to-51-months-in-prison ↩
Local network
Alexander Lightner's direct connections. Click any node to navigate, drag to pan, scroll (or pinch) to zoom. + 2‑hop expands the neighborhood one level further.