A San Diego County man faces federal criminal charges after federal authorities said he mailed a letter to a Riverside County mosque threatening to commit mass murder of Muslims.
Louis White, 60, of Warner Springs, was charged Thursday with mailing threatening communications, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
The Islamic Center of Temecula Valley contacted police Aug. 26 after receiving the letter that included statements such as “I cannot wait for the day to kill every one of you, it cannot come soon enough.”
The letter contained a drawing of a bearded face in cross hairs with X’s for its eyes, and a threatening curse aimed at Allah, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court Central District of California.
Det. Pierce Rogers of the Riverside Sheriff’s Office contacted U.S. Postal Inspector Gabriel Rodriguez Aug. 28 about the letter the Islamic Center received, according to court documents. Rodriguez wrote in the affidavit that they traced the letter’s origin to the San Bernardino Processing and Distribution Center in Redlands on or about July 30, meaning the letter likely originated in San Bernardino or Riverside counties.
Roberts sent the envelope that contained the threatening letter for forensic analysis, and a fingerprint returned a match to White, according to the criminal complaint. Police took him into custody Aug. 29.
During the arrest, investigators confiscated several guns at White’s home, including an AR-15 with no serial number and a short-barreled rifle, the complaint says. They also found thousands of rounds of ammunition and a baseball cap that read “Shoot your local terrorist,” according to court records.
Rodriguez wrote that White was later interviewed and confessed to sending the letter “and expressed animosity towards Muslims,” the criminal complaint says.
A search of White’s phone revealed a Facebook account that included several anti-Muslim posts, including one that reads “Muslims need to be exterminated from the Earth,” the complaint says.
“Also, during the interview, White spoke about Muslims taking over America and killing Americans. At one point, White asked Investigator Roberts, ‘What are you gonna do about it?’” the complaint says. “Investigator Roberts in turn asked White what he was going to do about it. White responded, ‘I can’t do anything now that you took my guns!’”
White’s arrest comes mere months after a shooting in a San Diego mosque on May 18 left five dead, including two gunmen.
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