A California man was sentenced Monday night in U.S. federal court to 35 years in prison, after shooting and injuring two Jews who were leaving synagogues in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles in February 2023, federal prosecutors announced.
Jamie Tran, 30, pleaded guilty in June to all charges against him, which include two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Report about the arrest of Jamie Tran for shooting two Jewish men leaving synagogues in LA in February 2023
(Video: KTLA 5)
The attempted murder in February 2023 raised concerns among the Jewish community in the city, because the victims each wore a kippah. Tran told law enforcement officials that he had searched the Internet for a "kosher market" and decided to shoot someone nearby. Tran had a "history of antisemitic and threatening behavior," the lawsuit states.
In early February 2023, Tran sent an online message stating: “it’s time to kill all Jews.”
“Targeting people for death based solely on their religious and ethnic background brings back memories of the darkest chapters in human history,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “Such hate-fueled violence has no place in America. We hope the sentence imposed today sends a strong message to all in our community that we will not tolerate antisemitism and hate of any sort. For those who engage in hate crimes, the punishment will be severe.”
“After years of spewing antisemitic vitriol, the defendant planned and carried out a two-day attack attempting to murder Jews leaving synagogue in Los Angeles,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a statement. “Vile acts of antisemitic hatred endanger the safety of individuals and entire communities, and allowing such crimes to go unchecked endangers the foundation of our democracy itself. As millions of Jewish Americans prepare to observe the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Justice Department reaffirms its commitment to aggressively confronting, disrupting, and prosecuting criminal acts motivated by antisemitism, or by hatred of any kind. No Jewish person in America should have to fear that any sign of their identity will make them the victim of a hate crime.”
This is not the first time that the accused has tried or threatened to harm Jews.
According to the government’s sentencing submission, Tran obsessed over his antisemitic hatred for years leading up to the attack. In 2018, Tran left graduate school after making antisemitic comments about other students. From August 2022 to December 2022, Tran’s antisemitic statements escalated and included increasingly violent language, including messages to former classmates such as “I want you dead, Jew,” and “Someone is going to kill you, Jew.” Tran described himself as a “ticking time bomb” and maintained social media accounts with the handle “k1llalljews.”
In November 2022, Tran emailed two dozen former classmates a flyer containing antisemitic propaganda, including the statement, “EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF THE COVID AGENDA IS JEWISH.” The following month, Tran emailed his former classmates excerpts from an antisemitic website further denigrating Jewish persons.