California

Benjamin Daley, Michael Miselis, and Thomas Gillen, members of the white-supremacist group formerly known as the Rise Above Movement (RAM), were sentenced in court for violence they committed at political rallies as part of their conspiracy to riot.

From March 2017 to August 2017, the three men traveled with other RAM members to multiple political rallies and organized demonstrations in Virginia and California where they engaged in planned acts of violence. They attended these rallies intending to provoke physical conflict with counter-protestors, which they believed would justify their use of force and protect them from prosecution. The defendants admitted that their acts of violence during the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally were not in self-defense.

Daley was sentenced to 37 months in prison, Gillen was sentenced to 33 months in prison, and Miselis was sentenced to 27 months in prison. A fourth defendant, Cole Evan White, will be sentenced at a later date. All four defendants previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to riot.

Sentencing: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/three-members-california-based-white-supremacist-group-sentenced-riots-charges-related

John Earnest, of Rancho Peñasquitos, California, has been charged with federal hate crimes, including the obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs and damage to religious property, following attacks on the Chabad of Poway Synagogue and Dur-ul-Arqam Mosque in California.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, the defendant set fire to the Dur-ul-Arqam Mosque on March 24, 2019. The flames were quickly extinguished but the building sustained some damage. A month later, on April 27, 2019, the defendant reportedly arrived at the Poway Synagogue with a fully loaded semi-automatic rifle with five extra magazines strapped to a chest rig, and opened fire, killing one person and injuring three other members of the congregation. The defendant was chased from the scene and attempted to flee, but law enforcement later apprehended him and found the rifle and ammunition in his car. The defendant’s manifesto was later found during the execution of a search warrant, in which he admitted to the Dur-al-Arqam Mosque arson and cited the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting as an inspiration for his actions.

The defendant faces a 113-count indictment, with a maximum possible penalty of death, or life without parole. He is currently in state custody pending state criminal charges.

Charges Filed: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-charged-federal-hate-crimes-poway-synagogue-shooting

Indictment: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-indicted-federal-hate-crimes-related-poway-synagogue-shooting-and-arson