John T. Earnest sentenced to life in prison for 2019 hate crimes
Life sentence for man who opened fire in synagogue
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - John T. Earnest has been sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison for over 100 counts of violent offenses, including hate crimes.
On April 27, 2019, Earnest opened fire in Chabad of Poway and killed one woman, injured three others, as well as attempted to kill 50 more people.
Earnest's indictments included 54 counts of hate crimes, 55 counts of violating the Church Arson Prevention Act and four firearms offenses.
About one month earlier from that incident, Earnest admitted to attempting to burn down a mosque because of his hatred of Muslims.
“All people deserve to live and worship peacefully,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The defendant’s conduct was an attempt to damage what makes our nation so great—our diversity. The Department of Justice stands with our Jewish and Muslim community members, we reject hate in all forms, and we are committed to prosecuting bias-motivated violence to the fullest extent.”
After he was taken in by local law enforcement from a 911 confession, investigators discovered a manifesto written by Earnest which included statements such as "I can only kill so many Jews," and "I only wish I killed more."
