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A Californian who opened fire on a synagogue two years ago, killing one person and injuring others in an anti-Jewish attack, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The man, John T. Earnest, now 22, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the April 27, 2019 attack in Chabad of Poway, the county prosecutor’s office said from San Diego.
Earnest entered the city synagogue north of San Diego with a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle and opened fire, killing Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, and wounding the rabbi, an 8-year-old girl and her uncle .
He ran away and called 911, saying he was the gunman and that the Jewish people were “destroying the white race,” officials said.
With the plea in state court on Tuesday, Earnest avoids a possible death sentence. But he is also facing federal indictment, and no decision has been made on whether or not to seek the death penalty in the case, a spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in San Diego said.
Earnest accepted a life sentence without the possibility of parole, as well as additional sentences of 121 years in life and 16 years in prison, the district attorney’s office said. Sentencing is scheduled for September 30.
“Although we reserve the right to judge this as a death penalty case, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the accused is an appropriate solution to this violent hate crime, and we hope that it will bring a measure of justice and closure to the victims, their families, their friends and the community at large, ”the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Earnest appeared to show little emotion in court on Tuesday as the allegations were read, among which he was motivated by hatred and that he shot his victims for being Jewish. When asked if that was why he was pleading guilty, he answered “yes”.
Investigators found a hate-filled manifesto online with Earnest’s name and discovered the document on his computer, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit in the federal case.
He expressed he felt inspired by a 2018 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which left 11 dead, and an attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which left more than 50 dead , officials said.
In addition to the Poway Synagogue shooting, Earnest admitted to setting fire to a mosque with worshipers inside in Escondido, Calif., In March 2019. No one was injured.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office said it consulted Gilbert-Kaye’s family and other victims before accepting the plea.
An emailed request to Chabad of Poway seeking comment was not immediately returned on Tuesday.
Earnest’s family apologized and said they were deeply ashamed. They said he was brought up to reject hate.
He has also been charged by the federal government with over 100 counts, most of which are hate crimes.
State prosecutors said a possible plea in the federal case could have prevented the state’s case from moving forward. Earnest submitted a conditional plea deal in the federal case on June 4, the district attorney’s office said.
The federal case is ongoing, said Kelly Thornton, spokesperson for the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of California. The deadline for a decision on whether to seek the death penalty is August 30, and the next hearing is scheduled for September 8.
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