LOS ANGELES — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Central), published as received.
LOS ANGELES – A San Luis Obispo County man was arraigned today on a three-count federal grand jury indictment charging him with threatening via social media last summer to bomb every synagogue within a 20-mile radius.
Elijah Alexander King, 36, of San Luis Obispo, is charged 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.
King pleaded not guilty to the charges and a January 13, 2026 trial date is scheduled in this matter. He has been in federal custody since November 6 and has been ordered released on bond while the criminal case against him proceeds.
According to the indictment returned on November 19 and other court documents, on August 28, King used an X (formerly Twitter) social media account under the name “Billy Badass” and linked to an email address and telephone number he is known to use to post the threat. 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.” Approximately 10 minutes later, King used his cellphone’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 continued to use his X social media 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.”
King’s X account prior to August 28 contained posts expressing antisemitic rhetoric, including praise for Adolf Hitler, and contained images of weapons, including a handgun, knives, and mace.
In September and October of 2025, King sent numerous racist voicemails and emails to the police detective who had him placed on a psychiatric hold on August 28.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted, King would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the count of threats and false information regarding fire and explosives, and up to five years in federal prison for the threats by interstate communication and false information and hoaxes counts.
The FBI is investigating this matter. The San Luis Obispo Police Department provided assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Laura A. Alexander of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Jenna W. Long of the National Security Division are prosecuting this case.
