DETROIT — FBI counterterrorism investigators have arrested a Macomb County man they said is linked to a vow to commit a mass shooting and wrote "There is no God" on the stock of a rifle in a nod to Oxford High School killer Ethan Crumbley.

The allegations are contained in a criminal filing unsealed Thursday in federal court in Detroit that chronicles the latest in a flurry of federal cases involving threats. The case was unsealed one week after prosecutors charged eight people linked to the University of Michigan accused of orchestrating plans to threaten university leaders, police and businesses with crimes designed to force the university to sever ties with Israel.

An air marshal assigned to an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force alleged Eleazareli Maycock, 20, of Macomb Township, scrawled the phrase on a Savage Arms .22 caliber rifle with an obliterated serial number that was recovered by investigators last month. The phrase included a star surrounded by a circle.

"The same phrase, 'There is no God,' was stated by Ethan Crumbley in a video posted the night before the mass shooting at Oxford High School" in November 2021 that left four students dead and seven injured, the FBI task force officer wrote in the unsealed court filing.

Crumbley is serving a life-in-prison sentence.

Maycock is charged with receiving or possessing a firearm with a removed, obliterated or altered serial number.

Maycock, his hands and ankles restrained by handcuffs and shackles, made a brief initial appearance Thursday in federal court in downtown Detroit. He said "yes, ma'am" to several routine questions from U.S. Magistrate Judge Kimberly Altman before she ordered Maycock held without bond until at least Tuesday, when prosecutors are expected to ask that he be jailed indefinitely.

His court-appointed lawyer, Casey Swanson, did not respond immediately to a message seeking comment.

The investigation started with a tip in May that Maycock was making threatening statements on YouTube.

"YouTube comments made by an account registered to Maycock's address have also praised other mass shooters including the comment 'i will be the next brenton tarrant trust me," the officer wrote.

That is a reference to a mass shooter who killed 51 people and injured dozens during attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 that was live-streamed on the Internet.

There have been more than 850 threat-related cases filed nationally since 2013, including a record-high 133 last year, according to research by the University of Nebraska Omaha’s National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center and Chapman University. The number of cases this year is on pace to exceed last year's record total.

Based on the tip, investigators questioned Maycock at home May 22. He admitted to possessing a rifle and showed it to investigators, court records alleged.

"Maycock showed me the rifle, and I observed that the Savage Arms .22 caliber rifle’s serial number was removed, altered, or obliterated," the officer wrote.

The phrase "There is no God" was written in what appeared to be white paint marker on the stock, the officer added.

The Crumbley video "containing this phrase was publicly displayed and presented at a pre-sentencing ... hearing for Ethan Crumbley," the officer wrote. "This video, or quotes from it, were captured in numerous publicly accessible news articles and blogs."

Investigators returned to question Maycock on June 9, and he told them he purchased the rifle from Dunham's Discount Sports in Sterling Heights in February.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who prosecuted the Crumbley case, said the defendant's invoking of Crumbley's name "follows a well-known pattern."

"In almost every mass shooting, infamy has been shown to be a motive," she said in an emailed release. "While we have not been briefed on this incident, the defendant’s reference to the Oxford Shooter follows a well-known pattern. Future shooters research and revere prior shooters.

"In the interest of public safety, we encourage media outlets and the general public to adhere to the No Notoriety and Don't Name Them Protocols to help prevent future shootings."

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