Poway synagogue shooter gets a second lifetime jail sentence in federal court
John Earnest, who was 19 when he carried out the shooting, had already been sentenced to one life sentence in California state court earlier this year.
The California man who killed a woman and wounded three others when he opened fire at a Poway synagogue in 2019 was sentenced to a second life sentence in federal court Tuesday. John Earnest, who was 19 when he carried out the shooting, had already been sentenced to one life sentence in California state court earlier this year.
While the second life sentence does not actually change the length of the prison sentence, the two life terms are meant to signify the gravity of the crimes committed.
“Obviously this is as serious as it gets,” said U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia, according to the Associated Press.
Earnest, a white supremacist, carried out his attack on the Chabad synagogue in Poway, California on April 27, 2019, just six months after the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 people dead. Earnest cited the attack in Pittsburgh as well as the March 2019 shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand as inspirations in a manifesto he posted online.
In a call to 911 after the shooting, Earnest confessed to the shooting and said he did it to save white people.
“I’m defending our nation against the Jewish people, who are trying to destroy all white people,” Earnest told the operator. Earnest provided a detailed description of the San Diego intersection where he was parked and was taken into custody that day.
Lori Gilbert-Kaye, a 60-year-old member of the synagogue, was killed in the shooting and three others were injured.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
