OAKLAND — Federal charges have been filed against a Concord man who allegedly posted online about wanting to shoot up a synagogue and kill as many Jewish people and police officers as possible.
Ross Anthony Farca, 23, was charged Friday with making false statements in order to attempt joining the military. The charging records allege that Farca lied in order to join the U.S. Army.
The charges are the latest legal problem for Farca, who in June was charged in Contra Costa County with making criminal threats and possessing an assault weapon, which Farca allegedly made from parts he ordered online.
Federal authorities arrested Farca at his home Thursday morning, where he’d been out on bail in his Contra Costa case. He remains in federal custody, and on Tuesday a judge will decide whether to keep him jailed, set bail, or release him with conditions.
00:15 / 00:29
SKIP AD
Farca allegedly lied about his mental history in order to join the U.S. Army in June 2017, the complaint alleges. He was successful in duping army recruiters, granted admission, and sent to a basic training facility in Georgia, prosecutors say.
Once there, Farca assaulted one of his fellow trainees, according to the complaint.
Farca was arrested by Concord police in June and charged with making criminal threats after he allegedly posted on the video game platform Steam that he wanted to imitate the Poway synagogue shooter “except with a Nazi uniform on” and tally “a body count of at least 30.” He also allegedly referred to the Christchurch mosque shooter as “a hero.”
“I would probably get a body count of like 30 (Jews) and then like five police officers because I would also decide to fight to the death,” Farca said in one post, using a derogatory term to refer to Jewish people, according to court records. In other posts, he allegedly discussed picking a “better target than some random synagogue,” and referred to Jews as “subhumans.”
He was also charged with manufacturing and possessing an illegal assault weapon after police searched Farca’s home and found an assault rifle he claimed to have made, 13 empty magazines, a three-foot Katana sword, camouflage clothes, pistol ammunition, a hunting knife and books about Hitler youth and Nazis.
The day after he was arrested, Farca was released upon posting a $12,500 deposit for his $125,000 bail. He remains out of custody at least until his preliminary hearing on Dec. 9 under the condition that he can be searched by police at any time and must not possess firearms or ammunition.
His release has alarmed members of the Jewish community, fearing that without constant supervision, Farca would act on his violent threats.
During a search of Farca’s home, authorities say they seized books about Hitler, as well as a camouflage uniform, a homemade AR-15-style rifle, several magazines, and pistol ammunition.
