Hate crime charges filed against California synagogue shooter following attack and hate-filled 911 call

John Earnest will face federal civil rights and hate crime charges that could make him eligible for the death penalty, federal prosecutors announced 12 days after they say the 19-year-old attacked a Southern California synagogue and then claimed responsibility in a hate-filled 911 call.

In the criminal complaint unveiled Thursday, prosecutors said that after Earnest attacked the Chabad of Poway synagogue with an AR-15-style rifle, he called 911 from his car and told the operator that he had carried out the attack because "the Jewish people are destroying the white race."

Lori Kaye-Gilbert, 60, was killed in the attack and three others were injured. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein was shot in both hands, 34-year-old Almog Peretz was shot in the leg, and Peretz’s 8-year-old niece Noya Dahan, was struck in her face and leg, police said.

Earnest will face 109 federal counts, including 54 counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death or bodily injury -- one count for each person who was in the Poway synagogue at the time of the attack, said Robert Brewer, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of California, who announced the charges.

Each count is eligible for the death penalty, Brewer said.

"Our actions today are inspired by our desire to achieve justice for all of the victims and their families," Brewer said.

Earnest is also accused of setting fire to the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in Escondido on March 23, for which he also faces one count of damage to religious property.

An affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint also described the manifesto bearing Earnest’s name that authorities say was posted online and found in a search of his laptop. In the document, prosecutors say Earnest makes numerous anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim statements, and says that he was inspired by the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and the recent shootings at two mosques in New Zealand.

Prosecutors also confirmed that Earnest got the gun used in the attack the day before the shooting from a licensed firearms dealer in San Diego.

Earnest is already facing state charges of murder, attempted murder and arson, filed last week by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. While those charges could make Earnest eligible for the death penalty under California law, prosecutors have not yet made a decision on what punishment they will seek.

California currently has a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, but the federal government does not.

Officials said Thursday that Earnest is expected to be in court next week to face charges in both the federal and state cases, which will be filed at the same time.