Federal hate crime fees announced towards man accused of plotting racist shooting in Georgia

The person allegedly shot into two grocery shops in Jonesboro, Georgia.

19 May 2022, 13:58

• 3 min learn

Hate crime prices have been announced towards a person accused of planning to fatally shoot prospects and employees of two Jonesboro, Georgia, convenience stores.

Larry Edward Foxworth allegedly fired a gun repeatedly into two convenience shops at 2:30 a.m. on July 30, 2021. Each stores had been open for enterprise.

The indictment alleges that Foxworth, who's white, was motivated to shoot into the shops due to the perceived race, coloration or nationwide origin of the folks inside the stores.

“No person needs to be afraid to buy or go to work in our neighborhood. Nor ought to individuals have to fret that they may be violently attacked because of the color of their skin,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Ok. Buchanan mentioned in an announcement.

Foxworth was charged with two counts of committing a federal hate crime and discharging a firearm to commit a violent crime. He has not yet entered a plea.

He's being charged beneath the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act, which makes it a federal crime to willfully trigger bodily injury, or try to take action utilizing a harmful weapon due to the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, faith or nationwide origin.

Clayton County is a predominantly Black community, making up 72.8% of the inhabitants, in keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau.

The charges in opposition to Foxworth come in the wake of the mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store.

The 18-year-old suspect in Buffalo shot and killed 10 folks, injuring three others, in what authorities have described as a racially motivated rampage.

“Hate-fueled violence has no place in a civilized society,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division mentioned. “Fortunately no one was injured by the conduct alleged in this case, however the Justice Department is dedicated to using all of the tools in our regulation enforcement arsenal to prosecute allegations of hate crimes.”

U.S. Assistant Attorney Basic for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke speaks during a news convention on the Division of Justice, Aug. 5, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

This is the primary time in about eight years that hate crime expenses have been filed within the Northern District of Georgia, a spokesperson for the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace advised ABC Information.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Clayton County Police Department.

ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.