LOS ANGELES, CA – Jaime Tran, 30, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to hate crimes and firearm charges for shooting two Jewish men in Los Angeles in February 2023, according to a statement last week by the U.S. Dept. of Justice.
The DOJ charged the attacks were motivated by antisemitic hate, and targeted the men as they left religious services in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, a predominantly Jewish area.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland condemned Tran’s actions as a premeditated attack on the Jewish community, the DOJ said in its statement.
“After years of spewing antisemitic vitriol, the defendant planned and carried out a two-day attack attempting to murder Jews,” Garland stated, underscoring the broader dangers of such hate-fueled violence.
The DOJ said the first shooting occurred on Feb. 15, 2023, when Tran shot a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke near a synagogue.
The next day, Tran, said the DOJ, returned to the same area and shot another Jewish man leaving religious services. Both victims survived.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada called the attacks “hate-fueled violence” that has no place in America, stressing that the sentencing serves as a powerful message against antisemitism.
Similarly, Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office emphasized the importance of protecting religious freedom and holding individuals accountable for hate crimes.
The DOJ noted Tran’s recorded history of antisemitism, beginning in 2018 when he made antisemitic comments while in graduate school.
Tran escalated hate speech in 2022, with threats directed at former classmates, including violent messages targeting Jews, added DOJ, noting Tran illegally acquired firearms in early 2023, culminating in his two-day shooting spree.
