Concord man who threatened to kill Jews, police sentenced for hate crime

After three delays for mental health diversion hearings, Ross Anthony Farca was sentenced Friday for a 2019 hate crime involving threats to kill Jews and police officers.

Farca, a Concord resident and Nazi sympather, was 23-years-old when he was arrested in June 2019. The FBI tipped local police about comments he’d made in chatrooms on Steam, an online video game platform. Under the screen name “Adolf Hitler (((6 Million))),” FBI said Farca, inspired by attacks on Jewish communities in San Diego and New Zealand, had threatened to commit a mass shooting at a synagogue and then shoot responding officers.

He’d detailed his plan to use a homemade assault rifle and live-stream the attack. 

In a search of the Concord home he shared with his mother, police discovered an illegally assembled semi-automatic assault rifle, a stash of high-capacity magazines, Nazi literature, camouflage clothing and a sword.  

Farca found himself back in court the following year when he pleaded guilty to separate charges for making false statements about his mental health on a U.S. Army background check application. He did not disclose his regular psychiatrist visits or the various medications he’d been prescribed. Farca attended basic training in August 2017 for just over a month before he was discharged for “erroneous enlistment.”

According to an affidavit filed by FBI special agent Tyler Esswein, Farca was arrested during his time in basic training when he assaulted a fellow trainee. He was found unfit for service in a psychiatric evaluation following the assault.  

He was ordered to pay $17,832 in restitution for that conviction.

In the hate crime case, he was convicted on Dec. 1, 2021 of four felonies and one misdemeanor hate crime, unlawful manufacturing and possession of an assault weapon, as well as two counts of criminal threats against investigating officers. 

According to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, Farca was sentenced Friday to four years, eight months in state prison, with another year to be served in Contra Costa County Jail.     

Following the sentencing hearing, Deputy District Attorney Amber White said: 

“Today’s sentencing ensures the safety of the residents of Contra Costa County and the greater Jewish community. Hate crimes disrupt the lives of both direct and indirect victims, and this sentence demonstrates that hate never wins.”