On December 28, the U.S. Southern District of California sentenced Poway
synagogue shooter John T. Earnest to life in prison with an additional 30....


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Tech & Terrorism: Poway Synagogue Shooter Maintains Influence Online

(New York, N.Y.) — On December 28, the U.S. Southern District of California
sentenced
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Poway synagogue shooter John T. Earnest to life in prison with an additional
30 years. On April 27, 2019, Earnest shot and killed one woman, injured three
other individuals, and attempted to kill 50 others when he opened fire at the
Chabad of Poway synagogue in California. Earnest claims he was inspired by New
Zealand shooterBrenton Tarrant
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people at two mosques one month earlier. Earnest wrote in his manifesto he
hoped to inspire similar shootings. A California state court previouslysentenced

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Earnest to life without parole in September 2021.

 

During Earnest’s sentencing, the Justice Department noted the manifesto
authored by Earnest prior to the shootings, replete with antisemitic and
anti-Muslim statements, and a desire to kill those of the Jewish faith. Since
the attack, this manifesto has surfaced several times on white supremacist
Telegram channels and other social media platforms. For the one-year
anniversary of the shooting, these channelsposted
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quotes from the manifesto while also calling Earnest a “saint.” On the second
anniversary, at least two dozen white supremacist Telegram channelscommemorated
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the shooting by posting the manifesto and advocating for additional violence
against Jews. And following Earnest’s first sentencing this past September, at
least 17 Telegram channelsuploaded
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content glorifying him and encouraging additional violence.

 

The manifesto was first posted by Earnest on 8chan/pol. The “politically
incorrect” (/pol) sections of online message boards, such as 8chan, have
glorified and encouraged violence perpetrated by lone actors. Before his March
2019 Christchurch attack, Tarrant posted links to his manifesto and livestream
on 8chan. Patrick Crusius, the alleged El Paso mass shooter, did so as well.

 

In all three cases, board users continued to spread manifestos, memes, and
other content praising the shooters after the events transpired. It is
significant that copycats of Tarrant have also used 8chan and posted their
manifestos on the site, showing their allegiance to the forum and its users and
hoping to radicalize others and inspire further acts of white supremacist
violence. After 8chan was taken offline, similar behavior has reportedly
continued on analogous bulletin boards, while communities on 8chan successor
bulletin boards continue to call for violence. While incarcerated, Earnest has
continued to post new writings to prisoner support websites.  

 

To read the Counter Extremism Project (CEP)’s resource Antisemitism Resurgent:
Manifestations Of Antisemitism In The 21St Century, please click here
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. 

 

To read CEP’s resource Violent Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism
–Transnational Connectivity, Definitions, Incidents, Structures and
Countermeasures, please click here
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.

 

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