Steven Duenas
Introduction
Steven Carlos Duenas is a 51-year-old Los Feliz man charged in a federal criminal complaint after prosecutors said he threatened Jews on social media and assembled a combination of parts designed and intended to make a Molotov cocktail while plotting a “mass incident” at Jems, a Jewish preschool near his home in Los Angeles. The FBI arrested him on October 2, 2026, in a 4:30 a.m. raid of the home he shares with his mother, who was handcuffed alongside him. The New York Post, which published his mother Maria’s first interview on October 17, described a descent from altar boy to federal defendant.
Background Information
Maria Duenas told the Post that her son’s life came apart through a firing from his job with Los Angeles County, a long-distance marriage and a divorce, which she connected to a prescription drug and alcohol spiral. After his arrest she found what she described as “barrels of alcohol” and “hundreds of bottles of meds” in the home, saying “he was out of his mind.” She remembered him as “sweet, kind,” a boy who “went to a good school,” attended mass and served as an altar boy. The family once had Jewish neighbors “that weren’t very nice” in a dispute over a shared fence, she said, but “he never spoke of it, it doesn’t fit.”
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted. Duenas faces a federal criminal complaint — not an indictment and not a trial verdict. The account of his posts and the device parts comes from federal prosecutors and the complaint, as reported by the New York Post; no plea is recorded in the coverage, and no attorney for Duenas is quoted.
According to federal prosecutors, Duenas allegedly targeted nearby Jewish preschool Jems, where they said he planned to carry out a “mass incident.” On September 19, posts on his X account displayed what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail held in front of a TV screen showing the burning World Trade Center, captioned: “1st batch- Goy De Ley’ cocktail. Don’t simply watch the war, participate by enjoying a Goy De Let cocktail.” The complaint against Duenas explains that “goy” refers to a non-Jewish person while “de ley” is an expression meaning loyal or reliable. A second post that day showed a glass bottle and read, “Second cocktail of the night 271K max cocktail.”
A video posted the same day showed what appeared to be Molotov cocktail ingredients while R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” played, accompanied by the message: “It’s the end of Los Feliz as you know it, and I feel fine. I love my homies… The Houthis.” Other antisemitic posts attributed to Duenas included “Not enough synagogues have been burned down” and “I just acquired some Tomahawks from Facebook Marketplace, might bomb Jems later.” He was arrested October 2 and appeared in court shortly after, shackled and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, tears streaming down his face; when the judge asked whether he wanted the proceedings postponed until he regained his composure, Duenas said he was ready to continue. As he left the bail hearing he mouthed “I love you” to his mother.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The public record around the case so far is largely his mother’s voice. Maria Duenas defended her son’s character — “Steven has always been respectful of others, he was not brought up that way. We pray and we help, that’s my motto” — while refusing to excuse him: “I’m not making excuses for my son’s behavior and I hope he gets help. I know that he is sorry, he wasn’t himself.” Asked about the FBI finding Molotov cocktails in her home, she teared up and called it “the worst part of it. I can’t believe it.” She said she would like him “to go to a clinic and clean up, to truly repent and find peace.” The Post’s exclusive was the only coverage of the case found as of October 17; Jems and Jewish institutions named in his posts are not quoted in it.
Current Status
Duenas is charged in a federal criminal complaint with making threats against Jews on social media and possessing a combination of parts designed and intended to make a Molotov cocktail, according to prosecutors, and the case remains at the complaint stage: no indictment, no plea and no trial date appear in the coverage. He appeared in court in custody shortly after his October 2 arrest and is expected back in court on November 10, 2026. The allegations are unadjudicated, and the destructive-device charge carries the presumption of innocence that any defendant holds at this stage.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The Post’s reporting records the practical wreckage in his mother’s account: the earlier firing from his LA County job, the marriage that became long-distance and ended in divorce, and the drug and alcohol spiral she blames for his state of mind. The arrest itself added the sharpest break — a pre-dawn FBI raid of the home he shares with his mother, in which both were handcuffed, and a federal prosecution that will carry him back into a courtroom on November 10. If convicted on the complaint’s allegations, he faces a criminal record as an antisemitic-threat defendant; until then, the case stands as charged but unproven.