A 36-year-old man pleaded not guilty Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles to federal charges alleging he made bomb threats via social media last summer to blow up every synagogue within a 20-mile radius.
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Elijah Alexander King, 36, of San Luis Obispo, is charged in Los Angeles federal court with one count of threats and false information regarding fire and explosives, one count of threats by interstate communication, and one count of false information and hoaxes.
Assistant U.S. attorney Jenna Long is prosecuting the case. She told KNX News' Emily Valdez.
"He claims to be a member of an elitist white group," she said.
According to the indictment and other court documents, King used an X social media account on Aug. 28 under the name "Billy Badass" and linked to an email address and telephone number he is known to use.
The threat read, "I'm gonna blow up every synagogue in a 20-mile radius." He followed it up shortly afterward with "This is a real threat send the police and report me for terrorism," according to court papers.
About 10 minutes later, King allegedly used his phone's internet browser to repeatedly search for synagogues near him.
After law enforcement contacted King about the bomb threat and had him sent to a hospital for psychiatric monitoring, King allegedly continued to use his X account to make additional posts such as "I got arrested and put on a 3 day psych hold for my posts against the jews" and re-posted another user's post, which said, "(w)e don't need gun control. We need jew control," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
King's X account prior to Aug. 28 contained posts expressing antisemitic rhetoric, including praise for Adolf Hitler, and contained images of weapons, including a handgun, knives and mace, prosecutors said.
In September and October of 2025, King sent numerous racist voice mails and emails to the police detective who had him placed on a psychiatric hold in August, federal prosecutors allege.
If convicted as charged, King could face up to 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
King is currently in federal custody with no bail.
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