A man from St. Louis admitted in court that he threatened to bomb a local synagogue while people were inside, the US Department of Justice announced on Monday.
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Cody Steven Rush, 30, pleaded guilty in front of US District Judge Henry E. Autrey to the use of a telephone and instrument of interstate commerce to make a threat, a charge that carries a potential prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Rush admitted calling the St. Louis branch of the FBI on Nov. 5, 2021, and saying, "I'm going to blow up a church."
He gave his name to the FBI dispatcher and said his target was the Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis. Rush told the FBI agent on the call that he would act on his threat the next morning when people were inside the synagogue, and that he "hated Jews."
He apparently called back later and again threatened to attack the synagogue "while they are in service." When the FBI agent on the call asked Rush if had anything to add, he replied: "Yeah, that I hate them with rage."
Rush called the FBI a third time and shared that he was on the same street as the synagogue, according to the US Department of Justice. He made additional threats when the FBI called him back.
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When officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI found Rush, he told them: "I am feeling suicidal and homicidal. I just feel like killing Jews."
He was arrested and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 8.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
