Riverside Antisemite Who Shot 2 Jewish People Sentenced To 35 Years

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Riverside County man who last year shot and wounded two Jewish men as they left religious services in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles was sentenced Monday to 35 years in federal prison.

Jaime Tran, 30, of Riverside was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu, who set a restitution hearing for Dec. 2.

Tran pleaded guilty on June 3 to 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 government, Tran obsessed over his antisemitic hatred for years leading up to the 2023 attacks. In 2018, he 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," federal prosecutors said.

Tran described himself as a "ticking time bomb" and maintained social media accounts with the handle k1llalljews, prosecutors alleged.

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 people, according to the government.

As a result of previous mental health holds, as of 2023, Tran was prohibited from purchasing firearms. But in January of that year, Tran asked a person in Arizona to buy two firearms for him. Tran selected the weapons he wanted and paid approximately $1,500 in cash to the third party, who then purchased them, according to prosecutors.

Law enforcement identified the third party, who pleaded guilty in Arizona to illegally selling Tran the firearm used in the shootings.

Phone messages showed Tran asked multiple people to purchase firearms for him and offered to pay more if no background check was performed, prosecutors said.

In early February 2023, Tran sent an online message that read: "it’s time to kill all Jews." On the morning of Feb. 15, he used the internet to search out kosher markets, "planning to shoot someone" because he believed there would be Jewish people in the area, according to the government's narrative.

Tran drove to Pico-Robertson and shot a Jewish victim wearing a yarmulke as he was leaving religious services at a synagogue.

"Tran, believing the victim was Jewish, shot him at close range centimeters from his spine, intending to kill him. Tran then fled the scene in his car," according to prosecutors.

The next morning, Feb. 16, Tran returned to the Pico-Robertson area, intending to shoot another Jewish person.

"Tran shot a second Jewish victim, also wearing a yarmulke and leaving a synagogue after attending religious services," according to the government. "Tran shot the victim at close range, intending to kill him, as the victim crossed the street. Tran again fled the scene."

The victims in both attacks survived the shootings.

Tran was arrested Feb. 17 after a witness reported seeing someone shooting a firearm behind a motel. At the time, Tran told law enforcement that he was "practicing" with his assault weapon.

In its sentencing position, the government argued that had Tran not been caught, "his campaign of terror would likely have continued."

One of the survivors, told the court that he still fears for his safety. Identified in court Monday only as "Mr. H," the victim said he could have easily been killed if the bullet Tran fired hit "less than an inch" in another direction, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times.

Tran's second victim did not address the court, the Times reported.

United States Attorney Martin Estrada said Monday that "Targeting people for death based solely on their religious and ethnic background brings back memories of the darkest chapters in human history. 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."

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, "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. 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."

Riverside Antisemite Who Shot 2 Jewish People Sentenced To 35 Years originally appeared on the Temecula Patch