John T. Earnest: Poway Shooting, Mosque Arson, and Sentencing

John T. Earnest is the white supremacist who carried out the Poway synagogue shooting on April 27, 2019, killing one worshipper and wounding three others at Chabad of Poway near San Diego before being caught the same day. He was 19. He later pleaded guilty in both state and federal court and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by a consecutive federal sentence of life plus 30 years.¹

What Happened at Chabad of Poway

It was the last day of Passover. Earnest walked into the synagogue lobby carrying a Smith and Wesson M&P 15 rifle with a 10-round magazine, and wore a chest rig holding five more magazines of ten rounds each.¹ He opened fire and killed Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, a founding member of the congregation who had come to a memorial service for her mother.² Reports indicated Gilbert-Kaye was positioned between Earnest and Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, shielding the rabbi from the gunfire.³

Three others were wounded. Rabbi Goldstein, the synagogue’s founder, was shot in both hands and lost a finger. Almog Peretz, 34, took gunshot and shrapnel wounds to his legs and face while moving children away from the shooter. Noya Dahan, an eight-year-old girl, was hit by shrapnel in her leg and face.⁴ All three surviving victims were released from the hospital by the next day.³

The attack was cut short when congregants rushed him. Oscar Stewart, a 51-year-old Iraq War Army veteran, ran toward the gunfire shouting, causing Earnest to stop firing. Stewart chased him to his car and punched the window. Jonathan Morales, an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent who was worshipping there, drew his personal firearm and fired at the vehicle as Earnest drove off.⁵ Shortly after fleeing, Earnest called 911 and told the dispatcher he had “just shot up a synagogue.” Local officers arrested him and recovered the rifle and ammunition from his car.⁶

Who Earnest Was and How He Radicalized

Earnest grew up in San Diego and graduated from Mt. Carmel High School, where his father had taught physics for 31 years. At the time of the attack he was a nursing student at California State University, San Marcos, and had made the dean’s list both semesters of the previous academic year.⁷⁸

About 73 minutes before the shooting, a white supremacist manifesto was posted under Earnest’s name on the message board 8chan, with copies uploaded to PasteBin and MediaFire.⁹ Written in a question-and-answer format that mirrored the Christchurch mosque shooter’s manifesto, it repeated antisemitic conspiracy theories, including the claim that Jewish people were orchestrating a “genocide” of the white race through non-white immigration.¹⁰ Earnest named Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant and Tree of Life shooter Robert Bowers as “direct inspiration” and said he began planning his attack shortly after the Christchurch massacre in March 2019.¹¹ The document credited 8chan with his radicalization, claiming he had been “lurking” on the platform for a year and a half.

The Escondido Mosque Arson

A month before Poway, on March 24, 2019, someone broke a lock at the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in Escondido at about 3:15 a.m., poured a flammable liquid near a side door, and set it on fire. Seven missionaries were asleep inside. No one was injured.¹² Earnest’s manifesto claimed responsibility.¹³ He later admitted in court that he targeted the mosque because of his hatred of Muslims and the religious character of the building.¹⁴

How He Got the Rifle

Earnest bought the Smith and Wesson M&P 15 at San Diego Guns, a store on Mission Gorge Road, for $963.41, and picked it up the day before the shooting. California law, effective January 1, 2019, generally prohibits anyone under 21 from buying a firearm, with an exception for people over 18 who hold a valid hunting license. Earnest had been issued a license and had completed the required hunting education course, but state officials confirmed the license was not slated to take effect until July 1. It was not valid on the day of the sale.¹⁵ The store’s owner declined to comment publicly. A local gun-owners’ group defended the dealer, saying the store “followed state law to the letter” and that the license appeared legitimate.¹⁶

Guilty Pleas in State and Federal Court

Earnest was charged in San Diego County Superior Court with murder, multiple counts of attempted murder, and arson, each with hate crime enhancements. On July 20, 2021, he pleaded guilty to all charges under an agreement with the district attorney’s office. District Attorney Summer Stephan said the plea was reached “in the interest of justice” and reflected the fact that a parallel federal prosecution would complicate a state trial.¹⁷

Federally, a grand jury in the Southern District of California indicted Earnest on 113 counts in May 2019.¹³ The indictment, case number 19cr1850, charged 54 counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, 55 counts under the Church Arson Prevention Act tied to the mosque fire, and four firearms offenses.¹⁸ Together the counts covered the murder of Lori Gilbert-Kaye, the attempted murder of 53 other people, and the attempted arson in Escondido.⁶ Neither state nor federal prosecutors sought the death penalty, a decision made after consulting with the Kaye family and other victims.¹⁹ Earnest pleaded guilty to all 113 federal counts on September 17, 2021.

The Sentences He Is Serving

On September 30, 2021, San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh sentenced Earnest to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 121 years to life and 16 years.²⁰ Before the sentence was imposed, victims and members of the Kaye family addressed the court. Hannah Kaye, Lori Gilbert-Kaye’s daughter, told Earnest her mother “is here. She is alive in my words,” adding, “Your bullets will not wreck through my body today as they did my mother’s.”²¹ Dr. Howard Kaye, her widower, called Earnest “evil.” Almog Peretz told the court Earnest “killed both my body and my soul,” describing ongoing anxiety and panic attacks. Judge Deddeh denied a defense request to let Earnest address the court. “I don’t want this to be a platform for him to make White supremacist or racist statements,” the judge said. “I’m not going to let him use this platform to add to his celebrity.”

On December 28, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Battaglia sentenced Earnest to life in prison plus 30 years, to run consecutively to the state sentence. Seven of Gilbert-Kaye’s relatives and Chabad of Poway congregants spoke; several refused to say Earnest’s name. Judge Battaglia offered Earnest the opportunity to speak, and he declined. The judge recommended a federal facility, though the final placement decision rests with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.²² Attorney General Merrick Garland called the crime “an assault on fundamental principles of our nation.”¹²

Civil Lawsuits After the Shooting

In June 2020, the gun-control advocacy group Brady United filed a civil suit in San Diego Superior Court on behalf of shooting victims and their families against Earnest, his parents, Smith and Wesson, and San Diego Guns. The complaint alleged that Smith and Wesson negligently designed and unlawfully marketed the rifle in violation of California’s unfair business practices law, and that San Diego Guns illegally transferred the weapon to Earnest without a valid hunting license. It sought monetary damages and an injunction to reform business practices. In July 2021, Judge Kenneth J. Medel denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss, rejecting arguments that the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act shielded them from the claims.²³ The suit also named the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Justice as defendants for allegedly allowing the purchase to proceed.¹⁶

In December 2019, Almog Peretz sued Chabad of Poway separately, alleging the synagogue failed to provide adequate security despite receiving a $150,000 government grant intended for security upgrades. His complaint stated that on the day of the attack the building’s doors were unlocked and no security measures were in place.²⁴

1
U.S. Department of Justice. John T. Earnest Sentenced to Life Plus 30 Years in Prison for Federal Hate Crimes
2
ABC News. Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, Killed in San Diego Synagogue Shooting
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ABC7 New York. Synagogue Shooting Victim Shot Shielding Rabbi From Gunfire
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NBC San Diego. Chabad of Poway Synagogue Shooting
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USA Today. San Diego Synagogue Shooting Army Vet Border Patrol Agents Heroes
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ATF. California Man Pleads Guilty to 113-Count Federal Hate Crime Indictment
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CBS News. Poway Synagogue Shooting Suspect John Earnest Was Scholar, Athlete
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NBC San Diego. John T. Earnest Family Statement
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CNN. California Synagogue 8chan New Zealand Mosque
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Anti-Defamation League. Deadly Shooting at California Chabad Highlights Threat to Jewish Houses of Worship
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NBC News. Anti-Semitic Open Letter Posted Online Under Name of Chabad Synagogue Shooting Suspect
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U.S. Department of Justice. California Man Sentenced to Life Followed by 30 Years in Prison for Federal Hate Crimes
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NBC San Diego. Timeline: Poway Synagogue Shooting Suspect John Earnest
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ATF. John T. Earnest Sentenced to Life Plus 30 Years in Prison
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Los Angeles Times. Accused Poway Synagogue Shooter Didn’t Have Valid Hunting License When Gun Was Purchased
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Times of San Diego. Smith and Wesson, Gun Dealer, Others Sued Over Chabad of Poway Killing
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NBC San Diego. Poway Synagogue Shooter to Be Sentenced in State Court
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U.S. Department of Justice. John Earnest Pleads Guilty to 113-Count Federal Hate Crime Indictment
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NBC San Diego. Feds Won’t Seek Death Penalty for Chabad of Poway Shooter
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CNN. Poway Synagogue Shooter Sentencing
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UPI. California Synagogue Shooter John Earnest Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole
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Los Angeles Times. Poway Synagogue Shooter Federal Life Sentence
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Brady United. Poway Superior Court Judge Win PLCAA Assault Weapons
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The Forward. Chabad Poway Synagogue Shooting Lawsuit