FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – A Fairfax man was sentenced to 25 years in jail on Wednesday after he was convicted for making an attempt to hold out a mass capturing at a Haymarket church, possession of a gun and for transmitting threats over the web.
The backstory:
The investigation started after Rui Jiang, 36, posted a collection of messages on-line on Sept. 23, 2023, focusing on Park Valley Church in Haymarket and its congregation. The next morning, police looked for Jiang after getting a name from a citizen involved in regards to the posts.
Officers discovered Jiang closely armed on the church whereas Sunday providers had been underway. Jiang was carrying a semiautomatic handgun, two magazines of ammunition, a folding knife, a “bank card” model knife and a canister of bear spray in his close by automobile.
The preliminary tip got here from a lady who met Jiang on a relationship app earlier in 2023, the affidavit mentioned. The lady had stopped speaking with Jiang months earlier, however noticed social media posts that she deemed alarming, together with obscure threats in opposition to the church saying “Blood might be in your fingers” and photographs of a burning Bible.
READ MORE: Man introduced gun, knives to Virginia church service after making on-line threats: police
Dig deeper:
Throughout a search of Jiang’s Fairfax condo, legislation enforcement found copies of a manifesto, signed by Jiang, which learn, “I’m right here deny…the love lives blessed by God to those fortunate males, by taking out these males…To the households of these males about to be slain, I’m sorry for what I’ve achieved and about to do.”
In keeping with authorities, Jiang had lately joined the church however indicated that he was mad at God and at males for blocking him from having romantic relationships with girls. In his manifesto, he mentioned he supposed to solely shoot and kill males and apologized prematurely for any girls who is perhaps “collateral injury.”
Additional particulars emerged through the trial, together with the suspect’s uncommon demand for a refund of tithes he had beforehand donated to the church, which he cited as a grievance fueling his plot. Prosecutors argued that the assault was meticulously deliberate and motivated by private animosity and extremist beliefs.
READ MORE: Federal prosecutors take over case in opposition to man charged with threatening Virginia church
What they’re saying:
Jiang was sentenced to 25 years in jail and 5 years of supervised launch. He was beforehand convicted by a jury in March 2025.
“The liberty to worship with out worry is likely one of the bedrock ideas of our Nation,” mentioned U.S. Lawyer Erik S. Siebert for the Japanese District of Virginia. “Rui Jiang got down to violate that precept by coming into a church throughout a non secular service armed with the intent to homicide harmless parishioners. This unspeakable act, solely thwarted by courageous legislation enforcement officers and civilians, has no place in our Republic and can all the time be a precedence of my workplace.”
The arrest was the results of a multi-agency investigation involving Prince William County police, Fairfax County police and Anne Arundel County police.
The Supply: This data comes from the Fairfax County Police Division and the Division of Justice.
