Accused Poway Gunman Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Hate Crime Charges
Chabad of Poway Image by Google Maps
(JTA) — The accused gunman in the shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges.
John T. Earnest appeared in federal court in San Diego on Tuesday. He was shackled at his wrists and ankles while in court.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday announcing 109 hate crime and other charges against Earnest. The charges against Earnest also include an earlier arson at a nearby mosque. Earnest pleaded not guilty last month to state charges in both cases.
The federal hate crime charges make Earnest eligible for the death penalty if convicted. He could also face the death penalty from the state charges against him in the synagogue attack, which left one woman dead.
Peter Ko, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge that the government had not decided whether to seek the death penalty for the federal charges.
The state and federal cases are expected to continue simultaneously, which reportedly is uncommon.
After the April 27 attack on the synagogue, which killed Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, and wounded an 8-year-old girl, her uncle and the rabbi, Earnest called 911 from his car and told a dispatcher what he had done. He said he thought had killed some people, and the he did so because “I’m just trying to defend my nation from the Jewish people…They’re destroying our people,” according to the affidavit. He then told the dispatcher, “the Jewish people are destroying the white race.”
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
