Crime & Safety
OC Man Sentenced For Anti-Semitic Plot, Weapons Charges
He visited churches, synagogues, and made plans to target and kill religious leaders based upon his anti-Semitic beliefs.
LAKE FOREST, CA —A 28-year-old Orange County man admitted to carrying an unregistered, loaded firearm and threatening Jewish leaders in Orange County, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said.
Nicholas Wesley Rose's parents were the first ones to notice his anti-Semitic leanings, according to OCDA Todd Spitzer.
In April of 2018, Rose told a member of his family that he "desired to kill people," and he was witnessed making violent threats against the Jewish community, Patch reported. His family made the decision to say something about Rose's claims, calling in the authorities for fear he would make good on his threats to a church and synagogue in Irvine, and another church in Lake Forest.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Rose's parents contacted the Orange Police Department in April of 2018, concerned about their son's rhetoric, including a statement that he intended to 'get a gun and kill some Jews,'" Spitzer's office wrote in a statement.
A subsequent search of Rose's apartment yielded anti-Jewish literature and a journal full of "white supremacist and anti-Jewish writings" by Rose and others, they said.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Rose's treatise was titled "Killing my first Jew" and was tacked on to a "Kill List," Spitzer's office said.
Two churches were also listed, noting their "sympathies to Jewish people," they said.
Investigators of the Orange Police Department found Rose had possession of a .22 caliber long range silenced rifle, a shovel and a sleeping bag along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition inside his vehicle.
"There is no place for hate," OCDA Todd Spitzer said in a statement. "He is a danger to society and every resident of Orange County should be aware of the threat he poses."
Rose was sentenced to two years and three months in Orange County's Jail, followed by mental health treatment and five years of formal probation with GPS monitoring.
He will also need to stay 500 yards away from all victims, and cooperate with the Orange County Probation Department regarding ongoing mental health treatment, the DA's office said.
Lake Forest Man Had Kill Lists, Planned Jewish Hate Crimes: OCDA
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
