Man who brought weapons to California abbey described self as ‘angel of death,’ police say

Mass at St. Michael’s Abbey in California. / Credit: “EWTN News In Depth”/Screenshot

CNA Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 10:19 am (CNA).

A man arrested with a car full of weapons after threatening a California Catholic church told the parish he was an angel of death meant to “do the Lord’s reaping,” according to authorities. 

Police arrested Joshua Michael Richardson on Aug. 28 after he allegedly made criminal threats against St. Michael’s Abbey, located in Silverado, about 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles in the Santa Ana Mountains. 

Richardson, an Alabama resident, had a cache of weapons in his car, including knives, brass knuckles, and a sword, police said. He was also reportedly in possession of several gun magazines. 

On Sept. 3 the Orange County District Attorney’s office said in a press release that prior to driving from Alabama to the California abbey, Richardson sent an email “threatening to ‘do the Lord’s reaping’” at the church. 

The suspect also reportedly claimed to be the “rider of the pale horse,” an apparent reference to Revelation 6:8, which refers to the personification of death among the apocalyptic Four Horsemen.

Richardson further “claimed to be Michael the angel of death” and “explained that he chose St. Michael’s Abbey as it is one of the few churches in the nation that still practices Michaelmas,” according to the district attorney’s office. 

The prosecutor’s office said Richardson traveled to the abbey and on Aug. 26 attended Mass there. After Mass he allegedly “follow[ed] the priest into a private area of the church” and made further cryptic and threatening remarks. 

The suspect was arrested two days later and was charged with multiple crimes, including threats, felony possession of brass knuckles, and felony possession of a dagger. 

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the press release that churches “represent the most sacred places of worship and of peace.” 

“No one should have to worship in fear that a stranger would walk through the door with the intent to carry out their own day of judgment and determine who lives and who dies,” he said. 

Richardson’s Aug. 28 arrest came exactly one day after the deadly mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school that claimed the lives of two children and injured approximately 20 more children and adults.

The perpetrator of that crime, 23-year-old Robin Westman, born Robert Westman, indicated prior to the killing and his suicide that he was suffering from mental health issues, which he claimed in a manifesto had been exacerbated by marijuana and his struggles with his “gender identity.”