California

A former Riverside, California resident has been charged with two counts of hate crimes for allegedly shooting two Jewish men.

The defendant shot the first victim as they were leaving services at a synagogue. The next day, the defendant shot another victim who was leaving services at a different synagogue in the same Los Angeles neighborhood.

Evidence indicates that the defendant targeted the predominately Jewish neighborhood after searching a popular business-review app for a kosher market in the Pico-Robertson district of Los Angeles.

These are serious allegations. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-charged-federal-hate-crimes-allegedly-shooting-and-wounding-two-victims

According to the complaint, between October 2 and October 8, 2021, the defendant made a series of threatening messages and comments. The threats corresponded to the word entries for “Girl” and “Woman.” The threats led Merriam-Webster to close its offices in Springfield, Massachusetts and New York City for about five days.

On October 2, 2021, the defendant began posting threatening comments, suggesting that Merriam-Webster’s “headquarters should be shot up and bombed.” On October 8, 2021, he posted another comment on the dictionary’s website threatening to bomb their offices.

The same online user made similar threats to several others, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Land O’ Lakes, Hasbro, Inc., IGN Entertainment, the President of the University of North Texas, two professors at Loyola Marymount University, and a New York rabbi.

The charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/california-man-pleads-guilty-threatening-merriam-webster-anti-lgbtq-violence

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/california-man-accused-threatening-merriam-webster-anti-lgbtq-violence-indicted

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/california-man-arrested-and-charged-making-threats-against-lgbtq-community

A Diamond Bar man was arrested on federal charges alleging that he disrupted a “Stop Asian Hate” rally in March 2021 by deliberately running a red light, blocking the path of demonstrators and yelling racial epithets at them.

According to the charges, on March 21, 2021, a “Stop Asian Hate” rally occurred in Diamond Bar. The rally was a protest against the increase in hate crimes and hate incidents against members of the Asian American Pacific Islander community both locally and nationally – including the murders of six Asian American women five days earlier in Atlanta.

During the rally, the defendant allegedly yelled, “Go back to China!” and other racial slurs at the demonstrators. Allegedly, he then deliberately drove his car through the intersection’s crosswalk at the red light, made an illegal U-turn and cut off the route of several rally participants lawfully crossing the street. His car narrowly missing a 9-year old, and others.

The defendant pulled his car over some distance away from the intersection, got out of the car and continued to yell racial epithets and threats at the demonstrators. He then called the police, identified himself as “John Doe” and falsely reported to police that the rally participants were blocking the street and he had to run a red light “because they were about to trample my car,” the indictment alleges. He also allegedly requested that police “get some control out” at the intersection.

If convicted of the two charges in the indictment, the defendant could face up to 20 years in prison.

An indictment is a serious accusation. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/diamond-bar-man-arrested-indictment-charging-him-using-his-car-intimidate-demonstrators

A California man was arrested and charged for making threats against Merriam-Webster, Inc.

According to the complaint, between October 2 and October 8, 2021, the defendant made a series of threatening messages and comments. The threats corresponded to the word entries for “Girl” and “Woman.” The threats led Merriam-Webster to close its offices in Springfield, Massachusetts and New York City for about five days.

The complaint says that on October 2, 2021, the defendant began posting threatening comments. Comments suggested that Merriam-Webster’s “headquarters should be shot up and bombed.” On October 8, 2021, he posted another comment on the dictionary’s website threatening to bomb their offices.

The same online user made similar threats to several others, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Land O’ Lakes, Hasbro, Inc., IGN Entertainment, the President of the University of North Texas, two professors at Loyola Marymount University, and a New York rabbi.

Charges contained in a criminal complaint are serious. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/california-man-arrested-and-charged-making-threats-against-lgbtq-community

A federal court sentenced two men to prison for hate crimes after their attack on a family-owned Turkish restaurant in 2020.

Turkey and Armenia are neighboring countries in western Asia that have a long history of conflict. In September 2020, tensions in Turkish and Armenian communities escalated worldwide, including in the United States.

The defendants, who are Armenian-American, sent text messages stating that they planned to go “hunting for [T]urks.” Later that day, the men met with Armenian-American friends to protest what they considered to be Turkish aggression against Armenians, expressing their contempt for Turkey, and showing support for Armenia. The group drove to the restaurant, and the defendants stormed inside, attacking several people inside. During the attack, multiple victims were injured, including one individual who lost feeling in their legs and collapsed multiple times due to their injuries. One of the defendants asked the victims, “Are you Turkish?” and shouted, “We came to kill you! We will kill you!”

The attack caused at least $20,000 of damage to the restaurant and physically injured multiple victims. The defendants owe their victims $21,200 to pay for the damage.

A federal judge sentenced the one of the men to five years in prison and the other to 15 months in prison for the attack.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/federal-prison-sentences-two-socal-men-who-targeted-turkish-victims-hate-crime-attack

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-agrees-plead-guilty-federal-hate-crime-case-attacking-family-owned-restaurant

A federal court sentenced a California man to life followed by 30 years in prison for his attack on a Poway synagogue. The man pled guilty to over 100 charges for killing one woman, injuring three people, and attempting to kill more than 50.

According to evidence, the defendant set fire to the Dur-ul-Arqam Mosque on March 24, 2019. A month later, he went to the Chabad of Poway Synagogue with a loaded semi-automatic rifle and ammunition. He opened fire on the congregants, killing one and injuring three others. The defendant fled the scene, but law enforcement later caught him and discovered the rifle and ammunition in his car.

A later search of his computer, uncovered a document where he admitted to setting fire to the Dur-ul-Arqam Mosque. He also wrote that the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting inspired him to burn the mosque and attack the synagogue.

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

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

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-sentenced-life-followed-30-years-prison-federal-hate-crimes-related-2019-poway

A federal court sentenced a California man to more than six years in prison for a hate crime for attacking a Black man in Santa Cruz, California.

According to evidence, the defendant slashed the victim with a nine-inch knife. He cut the victim on his head, chest, and stomach, while yelling racial slurs.

The defendant had a history of committing violent acts while yelling racial slurs. This was his fourth known attack against Black men in the last seven years.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-sentenced-more-six-years-prison-federal-hate-crime-conviction

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-convicted-federal-hate-crime-attempting-stab-black-man

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-charged-federal-hate-crime-attempting-stab-Black-man

Two Los Angeles-area men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy and hate crimes offenses for attacking five victims of a family-owned Turkish restaurant and threatening to kill them. On the day of the attack, one of the defendants sent a text message saying that he planned to go “hunting for [T]urks.” The two men allegedly attacked the restaurant while shouting anti-Turkish slurs, hurling chairs at victims, and threatening to kill them. Multiple victims were injured during the attack and there was over $20,000 worth of damage done to the restaurant.

If found guilty, each of the men face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the hate crime charges and five years in prison for the conspiracy charge.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-california-men-indicted-hate-crimes-case-alleging-they-attacked-family-owned-restaurant

A federal jury convicted a California man of willfully attempting to cause bodily injury by using a dangerous weapon because of a person’s actual or perceived race or color.

The man is guilty of confronting and attacking a Black man with a nine-inch knife, swiping the man multiple times on his head, chest, and stomach, while yelling racial slurs. At the time of the attack, the defendant was on probation in connection to another racially-motivated attack he committed in 2018.

The defendant faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-convicted-federal-hate-crime-attempting-stab-black-man

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-charged-federal-hate-crime-attempting-stab-Black-man

A California woman has been sentenced to 15 months and 13 days for intentionally obstructing individuals’ free exercise of religion by threatening to bomb the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., the oldest Catholic school for girls in the country.

The defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.In May of 2019, the school announced that it would begin publishing same-sex wedding announcements in its alumni magazine. In response to the school’s decision, the defendant made multiple calls to the school, threatening to bomb the church, blow up the school, and kill school officials and students.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-woman-sentenced-15-months-threatening-bomb-catholic-prep-school

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-woman-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-threatening-bomb-catholic-prep-school

A California woman pleaded guilty to committing a religious-bias hate crime by threatening to bomb the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C.

In May 2019, after school officials announced that Visitation Prep, the oldest Catholic school for girls in the country, would begin publishing same-sex wedding announcements in its alumni magazine, they began receiving threats. On May 15, the defendant left a series of voice messages stating that she was going to burn and bomb campus buildings, and kill school officials and students.

The crime carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-woman-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-threatening-bomb-catholic-prep-school

A California man has been charged with a federal hate crime for attacking a Black man with a knife on a street in Santa Cruz, California.

According to the charges, the defendant confronted a 29-year-old Black man who was crossing a street in Santa Cruz. He took out a nine-inch knife and slashed at the man’s head, chest, and stomach multiple times while yelling racial slurs at him.

At the time of the attack, the defendant was on probation for state convictions involving a racially-motivated assault on a different Black man in 2018. The complaint also describes two additional racially-motivated assaults committed by the defendant against Black men in 2014 and 2018.

The charge in the complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. The defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-charged-federal-hate-crime-attempting-stab-Black-man

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