A man from Virginia was sentenced to 25 years in prison for posting online threats and then traveling to a church with the intent to carry out a mass shooting in 2023, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Rui Jiang, 36, of Fairfax, was convicted by a jury in March after he transmitted threats online and carried weapons to the Park Valley Church in Haymarket on Sept. 23, 2023. He was also convicted of a hate crime, and five additional years of supervised release.
“This was the closest of calls. But for the determination of a concerned citizen … and the steadfast vigilance of the church security team, this would have ended in unimaginable tragedy,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in the press release. “The Justice Department will relentlessly investigate and prosecute attacks on our nation’s houses of worship.”
Jiang posted threats “which made clear his intention to kill congregants,” prosecutors said.
Police went to his home on Sept. 24 in response to a call from a “concerned citizen,” but Jiang was not there and was already at the church during Sunday services. He was armed with a semiautomatic handgun, two magazines of ammunition and two knives, and also had more ammunition, knives and a canister of bear spray in his car nearby, the press release stated.
He also had a “manifesto” in his apartment that read, “I am here deny … the love lives blessed by God to these lucky men, by taking out these men. … To the families of those men about to be slain — I am sorry for what I have done and about to do,” prosecutors wrote.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
