California synagogue gunman sentenced to life in prison

The man who opened fire at a synagogue north of San Diego in 2019, killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring three others during the Jewish holiday of Passover, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday without the possibility of release conditional.

In a deal that spared him the death penalty, the man, John T. Earnest of San Diego, pleaded guilty in July to murder, attempted murder and gun charges in the attack on the Chabad synagogue. of Poway in Poway, California on April 27, 2019. He also pleaded guilty to arson for setting a mosque on fire.

At a hearing in San Diego Superior Court on Thursday, Judge Peter Deddeh read the sentence, which also included life sentences with parole for firearms, after moving testimony from relatives of the victims and of people who witnessed the attack on the synagogue.

They spoke to Mr Earnest, 22, who had been ordered to sit at a table in front of them with his back to them.

Many have described their own injuries or recalled their memories of Lori Gilbert Kaye, 60, who was killed in the shooting as she stood in the hall of the synagogue greeting other worshipers.

One person at the synagogue that day recounted seeing Ms Gilbert Kaye on the ground after being shot while her husband Dr Howard Kaye was providing first aid.

Another recalled trying to chase Mr. Earnest outside after opening fire. The man said he was inspired by the memories of some of his relatives during the Holocaust and vowed he would fight if someone tried to kill him because he is Jewish.

One by one, they addressed Mr. Earnest’s still back, asking how someone his age had acquired so much hatred for Jews, or wondering how he had continued to shoot despite so many moments – when he was arming himself, for example, and as he entered the building – then he could have changed his mind.

Authorities say Mr. Earnest entered the Chabad of Poway synagogue, about 25 miles north of San Diego, and shouted anti-Semitic slurs at the 40 to 60 people there, shouting that the Jews were on the move. to ruin the world.

He opened fire with an AR-15 type rifle, killing Ms. Gilbert Kaye. Among the injured were Yisroel Goldstein, a rabbi who was shot in both hands and lost an index finger; an 8-year-old girl; and his 34-year-old uncle.

Ms Gilbert Kaye’s daughter, Hannah Kaye, was the last to speak at Thursday’s hearing. She walked to the catwalk, shoulders shaking with grief, and opened a laptop to read a statement about her mother, the friendship and love they shared.

Her mother had taught her gratitude, she said before thanking prosecutors, doctors and investigators. She then said that since there had been no trial she was grateful for the hearing as it allowed her to address her mother’s killer.

Speaking through tears, Ms Kaye recalled how she and her mother, whom she described as her best friend, kissed at home before heading to the synagogue, where Ms Gilbert Kaye was due to say a remembrance prayer for his own mother, who had recently passed away.

They walked up the steps together, the same steps Mr. Earnest would be going up soon, she recalled, then they parted. Ms Kaye sat down and her mother stayed in the lobby, she said.

Then there was the sound of gunfire.

“Suddenly, in an instant, the earth literally rocked,” Ms. Kaye said, and the “taste of gunpowder entered my mouth.”

She thought of her mother, knowing “she was so exposed out there in the hall”. She then saw her mother on the ground, her father trying to revive her. Sitting next to her mother, she held her hand and told her that she loved him.

Coming to the end of her statement, Ms. Kaye opened a prayer book. Others in the audience hall stood and recited the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead and one of the most sacred rituals of the faith.

Mr Earnest’s attorney said his client wanted to make a statement, but Judge Deddeh denied him the opportunity, The Associated Press reported, saying he did not want to give the accused “a forum. political “to express his white supremacist views.

“I’m not going to let him use this as a platform to add to his stardom,” the judge said.

Mr. Earnest pleaded guilty on September 17 to a federal indictment of 113 counts, admitting that he opened fire at the Poway Synagogue and set the Dar-ul-Arqam Mosque on fire in Escondido, California, in March 2019 because he wanted to kill Jews and Muslims, prosecutors said. Seven missionaries were sleeping in the mosque at the time, but no one was hurt.

He is expected to be sentenced on those charges in December, and federal prosecutors have said they plan to recommend a life sentence followed by 30 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors said in their statement that Mr. Earnest went to the synagogue after several weeks of planning and entered the building where members of the congregation were gathered for worship, armed with a fully loaded rifle. ‘a magazine of 10 cartridges.

He carried a platform containing five magazines, each loaded with 10 rounds, and opened fire, prosecutors said.

After emptying the first magazine, the faithful rushed at him. He fled in his car and called 911, saying he had just “blown up a synagogue” and was arrested.

Investigators found a manifesto Mr. Earnest posted online shortly before the attack. He included anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim statements, and said he was inspired by the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, in which a man armed with an AR-15 type rifle killed 11 people in October 2018.

He was also inspired by the shootings at two mosques in New Zealand, prosecutors said.

The American Jewish Committee, a Jewish rights organization, said in a statement on Twitter that the memory of Mrs. Gilbert Kaye “would inspire us to fight anti-Semitism wherever it exists”.

In response to the synagogue shooting, Governor Gavin Newsom of California last week signed a bill that requires gun buyers under the age of 21 to have a valid hunting license. The law, which will come into force in 2025, will close a loophole that allowed Mr. Earnest to purchase an assault rifle with an invalid license.

A California judge ruled in July that the shooting victims would be allowed to sue the rifle maker, Smith & Wesson, and the gun store where Mr. Earnest purchased the gun.