The 19-year-old suspect in a fatal shooting at a California synagogue has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes.

John T. Earnest spoke only twice during a brief hearing Tuesday in San Diego, once to acknowledge his name and once to say he agreed with his court-appointed attorney's request not to seek bond.

Prosecutor Peter Ko said the federal government has not decided whether to seek the death penalty.

He reaffirmed plans to try the case separately but simultaneously with state charges of murder and attempted murder, which could also expose Earnest to the death penalty.

Earnest is accused of bursting into the Chabad of Poway synagogue on April 27 and opening fire with an assault rifle, killing one person and injuring three.

An account in a federal affidavit describes a deeply disturbed man filled with hatred toward Jews and Muslims. He claims to have been inspired by attacks on mosques in New Zealand and the shooting at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue last fall.

Authorities say he fired at least eight shots in the synagogue before fleeing.

Earnest would be eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of murder that is classified as a hate crime. California Gov. Gavin Newsom in March issued a moratorium on executions while he is in office.

Prosecutors say Earnest expressed his “intent to harm Jews” in an online posting. He also acknowledged using gasoline to spark a blaze that charred a wall of the Escondido mosque and scrawling graffiti praising the gunman who killed 50 people at two New Zealand mosques last month.

Earnest was an accomplished student, athlete and musician whose embrace of white supremacy and anti-Semitism stunned his family and others closest to him. He lived with his parents and made the dean’s list both semesters last year as a nursing student at California State University, San Marcos.

Earnest frequented 8chan, a dark corner of the web where those disaffected by mainstream social media sites often post extremist, racist and violent views.

“I’ve only been lurking here for a year and half, yet what I’ve learned here is priceless. It’s been an honor,” he wrote.

Federal hate crime charges were also filed against the gunman who last fall opened fire at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, killing 11 worshippers. Authorities in that case say Robert Bowers also expressed hatred of Jews. Bowers, 46, has pleaded not guilty

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