Mental treatment ordered for man who threatened Cary synagogue

A Cary man pleaded guilty Wednesday to threatening a local synagogue a week after a mass shooting at a synagogue in Pennsylvania in 2018.

William Josephus Warden, 21, remains in a 24-hour psychiatric treatment program in Florida, so his attorney entered the guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of ethnic intimidation on his behalf. A second charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Warden rang the doorbell at Congregation Sha'arei Shalom, at 700 Old Apex Road, on Nov. 3, 2018, and made threats to the person who answered.

"Mr. Warden targeted our synagogue because he identified us as a Jewish house of worship," Rabbi Seth Klayman said in court Wednesday. "Thankfully, Mr. Warden’s anti-Semitic outburst did not result in physical harm to people or property. However, the far-reaching influence and damage of his words is impossible to quantify."

The incident occurred seven days after 11 people were killed and six others wounded during a morning service at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. The accused gunman espoused white nationalist and anti-Semitic views.

Klayman said the threats "resurrected latent concerns," noting some members of the Messianic Jewish congregation had relatives who died in the Holocaust.

"History has shown that hatred, bigotry and intolerance can be a gateway to unconscionable destruction," he said, adding that the synagogue has since adopted tighter security policies and procedures.

Defense attorney Roger Smith Jr. said Warden suffers from severe mental illness, which made him "susceptible" to hate groups online.

Warden even admitted to Cary police and the FBI two days before he went to the synagogue that he had been distributing anti-Semitic leaflets in Cary neighborhoods.

"He is getting to a better place," Smith said, noting Warden is receiving therapy and medication and has no access to the internet. "Not only Will, but his family are so sorry about what happened. They are so sorry about the fear they caused this community."

Warden's parents are state Court of Appeals Judge Lucy Inman and public relations executive Billy Warden.

William Warden wrote an apology that was read in court Wednesday, saying that his mental illness made him ashamed and that he turned to the internet's "more toxic corners" for validation.

"At that time in my life, I was extremely ashamed and afraid of both my past shortcomings and my prospects. I chose to project my pain onto others in the form of hate," he wrote in the letter. "I intend to live a simple, moral life within the law making living amends to all those whom I have hurt and wronged."

Klayman said he sympathizes with Warden and his family and hopes he continues receiving needed care.

"At the same time, we reject the notion that the bigotry Mr. Warden has exhibited is a result of his mental illness. Mental illness is not moral illness," the rabbi said.

Freeman noted that mental illness "is certainly not an excuse for this behavior," but it was a driving force behind the incident.

District Judge Bill Lawton agreed that the misdemeanor offense doesn't adequately address the situation, but it would be up to state legislators to craft a better law.

"There’s only so much the criminal justice system can do," Lawton said, noting that keep Warden locked up for life could be "creating the very thing that still haunts us about the Holocaust and political concentration camps that are in many countries in chaos today."

The judge sentenced him to another 12 months of treatment – he's been at the Florida facility since shortly after the incident – and asked that the court be notified when Warden is given access to the internet and social media.

Klayman said he and his congregation "stand ready and eager to forgive" Warden if he turns his life around and provides a more personal apology in the future.