ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia man who was arrested during a megachurch’s Sunday services on suspicion that he was about to embark on a mass shooting has been convicted of a hate crime, according to federal prosecutors.
A federal jury convicted Rui Jiang of Falls Church on Thursday of trying to obstruct congregants’ free exercise of religious beliefs, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The charge included that Jiang's attempt involved a dangerous weapon and an attempt to kill, prosecutors said. He was also convicted of transmitting online threats and a firearms violation.
Prosecutors have said Jiang intended to shoot congregation members of the Park Valley Church in Haymarket in September 2023. He was arrested during Sunday services at the church, armed with a handgun and other weapons, after a former girlfriend called police and alerted them to disturbing social media posts he made.
According to authorities, Jiang had recently joined the church but indicated he was mad at God and at men for blocking him from having romantic relationships with women. He left behind a “final letter” in which he said he intended to only shoot and kill men and apologized in advance for any women who might be “collateral damage.”
In interviews with police after his arrest, Jiang acknowledged he was mad at God but denied planning to kill anyone, according to court documents. He admitted he was armed inside the church but said he has a concealed carry permit and is frequently armed.
He was initially charged in state court, but federal prosecutors took over the case last year. The case was put on hold after a competency hearing was ordered, but the judge ruled in July that Jiang could stand trial.
Police touted Jiang's arrest as an example of fast-moving interagency cooperation between at least three police departments in Maryland and Virginia to apprehend Jiang before any violence occurred. Security personnel at the church had also noticed Jiang’s odd behavior and had begun to question him.
Jiang faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison at sentencing June 18. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
The federal public defender’s office, which is representing Jiang, declined comment Friday.
The Associated Press
