SLO man accused of threatening to bomb synagogues faces federal charges
A San Luis Obispo County man who allegedly threatened to bomb “every synagogue in a 20-mile radius” and had a history of antisemitic and violent social posts pleaded not guilty to three federal charges Tuesday, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
Elijah Alexander King, 36, of San Luis Obispo was arrested by the San Luis Obispo Police Department in October for posting the threat to the social media platform X.
At the time, the SLO County District Attorney’s Office filed local charges accusing King of making a felony false bomb threat with a sentencing enhancement for it being a hate crime, court records showed.
On Tuesday, King was arraigned on a federal grand jury indictment 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 in a U.S. District Court of the Central District of California, the release said.
King pleaded not guilty on all counts.
He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the first count and up to five years for the second and third counts, the release said.
King’s trial will start on Jan. 13, the release said. He has been in federal custody since Nov. 6, but was expected to be released on bond while his criminal case proceeds.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation with assistance from the SLO Police Department.
SLO County man had antisemitic and violent social media history
According to the Department of Justice, King — under the username “Billy Badass” — wrote on X on Aug. 28, “I’m going to blow up every synagogue in a 20-mile radius. This is a real threat, call the police and report me for terrorism.”
About 10 minutes after posting, King repeatedly searched in his phone’s internet browser synagogues near him, the release said.
King was contacted by police and sent to a hospital for psychiatric monitoring, then continued to post antisemitic posts on X, including “I got arrested and put on a 3 day psych hold for my posts against the jews.” He also re-posted another user’s post, which said, “[w]e don’t need gun control. We need jew control,” the release said.
Before his Aug. 28 post, King had made other posts to X expressing antisemitic rhetoric — including praising Adolf Hitler — and contained images of weapons, including a handgun, knives and mace, the release said.
In September and October prior to his arrest, King sent numerous racist voicemails and emails to the police officer who had him placed on a psychiatric hold, the release said.
This story was originally published November 25, 2025 at 1:23 PM.
