Editing John T. Earnest (section)

==Biography==
===Background===
Earnest was a 2017 graduate of Mt. Carmel High School and a nursing school student at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). Officials said he had no previous criminal record or contacts with police, and no known connection to any [[White Power Movement|white supremacist]] group. The shooter apparently attempted to livestream the shooting on Facebook, but failed.

In an antisemitic and racist open letter posted on 8chan shortly before the shooting and signed with Earnest's name, the author blamed Jews for the supposed [[Great Replacement / White Genocide|White genocide conspiracy theory]], which he referred to as the "meticulously planned [[genocide]] of the European race". He cited shooters [[Brenton Tarrant]] and [[Robert Bowers]] for their involvement in respectively the Christchurch shootings at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting at Tree of Life - Or L'Simcha Congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as Jesus Christ, Paul the Apostle, Martin Luther, [[Adolf Hitler]], Ludwig van Beethoven, Moon Man and Pink Guy for being the figures who inspired him to commit the Poway shooting as well as a joking mention of PewDiePie and referencing "The Day of the Rope" an event from [[William Luther Pierce]]'s neo-[[Nazi]] novel ''The Turner Diaries'' (1978) in which Jews, non-whites and liberals are executed including racial slurs targeting African-Americans and Hispanics and urged more violent attacks while avoiding arrest.<ref>[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/california-police-investigate-hate-filled-8chan-manifesto-that-could-link-synagogue-shooting-to-mosque-attack California police investigate hate-filled 8chan manifesto that could link synagogue shooting to mosque attack], ''The Washington Examiner''</ref><ref>[https://www.memri.org/reports/anti-jewish-manifesto-john-t-earnest-san-diego-synagogue-shooter The Anti-Jewish Manifesto of John T. Earnest, the Poway Synagogue Shooter], ''Middle East Media Research Institute''</ref>

He condemned President [[Donald Trump]] as a pro-Zionist traitor. He also justified his actions by including Bible quotes in his manifesto. The author also claimed responsibility for a March 2019 [[arson]] attack on a mosque in Escondido, California, about 15 miles (24 km) from Poway. That arson attempt was extinguished with only minor damage to the building and no injuries; graffiti left in the parking lot made reference to the earlier Christchurch shooting.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/us-news/anti-semitic=posted-online-under-chabad-synagogue-n999211 Anti-Semitic open letter posted online under name of Chabad synagogue suspect], ''NBC News''</ref>

Earnest was a member of the Escondido Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which is affiliated with the theologically traditionalist Orthodox Presbyterian Church. According to ''The Washington Post'', the shooter's manifesto, which expressed Christian motivations for killing Jews, led to a social media debate among Christian pastors. Rev. Duke Kwon of the Presbyterian Church in America said that the manifesto contains "a frighteningly clear articulation of Christian theology" on certain issues such as salvation, and warned that "There’s a deep and ugly history of anti-Semitism that’s crept into the Christian church, that needs to be continuously addressed, condemned and corrected." Other ministers strongly denied that Christian theology and scripture offer any support for anti-Semitism. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church issued a statement that "[a]nti-Semitism and racist hatred which apparently motivated the shooter . . . have no place within our system of doctrine." In the alleged shooter's manifesto, he denied that he had learned anti-Semitic beliefs from his family.