“Like Brenton”: Tennessee Man Arrested for Mass Shooting Plot at Mosque

The FBI arrested a Tennessee man after he allegedly discussed online his plot to commit a mass shooting at a Nashville-area mosque. According to a criminal complaint, Gunner Fisher fantasized about being “like Brenton [Tarrant]”, the mass murderer who in 2019 killed 51 individuals and injured 89 at a Christchurch mosque.

According to court records, the FBI acted on a tip from Meta that an Instagram user with the handle “mollyr0ckzinmygreenteaa” was discussing plans with another user to commit a mass shooter. Meta also reportedly gave the FBI the IP address and Facebook user affiliated with the Instagram account, which traced back to Fisher. 

The FBI said it reviewed posts in which the user said, “My full name is Gunner Joseph fisher” (SIC), that he was violent and suicidal, and owned an AR-15. The filing included a selfie of a man who resembles Fisher holding a rifle while wearing a tactical vest.

Charging documents state Fisher posted pictures of his guns, a machete, and a tactical vest. Before the purported plot to attack the mosque, the FBI says Fisher initially wanted to commit a mass shooting at “a furry convention.” Fisher allegedly talked about having written a manifesto, and said “My life is going to end with me dead next to a bunch of f***s in fur suits.” 

In June 2024, Fisher reportedly described himself as “like a bomb” and that he was “bound to murder.” He reportedly discussed on social media and admitted to the FBI about fantasizing as a child about “crowds of people” being “mow[ed]” down and mass shootings. In the filing, the FBI wrote Fisher researched school shootings, which agents feared was part of his plan to commit one.

He wrote to a person online not named in the filing that, “we should hint at our manifestos our attacks respectively” and “I’m like Brenton or Ryan palmeter” (SIC). Palmeter committed a racially motivated attack in 2023 at a Dollar Store in Jacksonville, Florida killing three people. 

A document the FBI said it recovered from Fisher’s phone and believes is his manifesto was titled “WHITEBOYSUMMER:2025.” In it, Fisher allegedly stated in part, “Once school starts again, Another Christchurch will happen. None of you n***** are gonna see it coming.” Prosecutors say he sent a screenshot from  Google Maps for a Nashville area mosque to an acquaintance online.

Fisher’s hatred was far-reaching, targeting Black, Jewish, and Muslim Americans, according to theIn a video reviewed by the FBI, Fisher purportedly said, “Jews are the root of all evil. They want money and they want to kill the European race.” In other postings, he used racial epithets to describe Jews, Muslims, and Black individuals. 

The Justice Department successfully moved to keep Fisher detained before a formal arraignment, writing in a detention motion, “..the Defendant expressed a fascination with mass shootings. He also said that he enjoyed watching videos of mass shootings, especially when they had been live streamed. The Defendant told the FBI that they would find his manifesto on the phone, and the FBI, in fact, found a document that appeared to be a “manifesto” and in which the Defendant explained that he already had a “sigma hunting rifle” with “hundreds of rounds of live ammunition.”

Fisher was arrested on December 19th. An indictment was filed today. The Middle District of Tennessee, which is prosecuting the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did Fisher’s defense attorney.

A hearing is set for January 27th.