A man has admitted to threatening to blow up a St. Louis synagogue in 2021.
Cody Steven Rush, 30, of St. Louis, admitted to calling the St. Louis office of the FBI on Nov. 5, 2021 and said, “I’m going to blow up a church.”
Rush gave his name and identified his target as the Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice Eastern Missouri District. He said he would take action the next morning, when people were inside.
“Rush said he hated Jewish people. He called back later and again threatened to attack the synagogue ‘while they are in service’,” the press release reads. Asked if had anything else he wanted to say, Rush said, “Yeah, that I hate them with rage.”
In a third call, Rush gave his location, which was on the same street as the synagogue. Authorities called Rush back, and he again made threats.
Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI found Rush, who reportedly said to them, “I am feeling suicidal and homicidal. I just feel like killing Jews.” He was arrested without incident.
Rush pleaded guilty to the use of a telephone and instrument of interstate commerce to make a threat. The charge carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 8.
