A 35-year-old man has been charged with attempting to shoot up a Virginia church after he allegedly posted threatening messages about the church online and showed up to the church on Sunday with a semi-automatic handgun and two loaded magazines.
Rui Jiang was charged by the Department of Justice on Thursday with attempted obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs, use and carry of a firearm during a crime of violence, and making threats. Jiang was arrested on September 24, 2023, outside of the Park Valley Church in Haymarket, Virginia, allegedly carrying a handgun and two loaded magazines after a member of the church had alerted authorities about concerning social media posts threatening violence he had reportedly made.
Police searched Jiang’s apartment and say they found five copies of a letter indicating that men in the church would be targeted in the shooting. “To the…
