Federal hate crime expenses announced against man accused of plotting racist shooting in Georgia

The man allegedly shot into two grocery stores in Jonesboro, Georgia.

19 May 2022, 13:58

• 3 min read

Hate crime costs have been introduced against a man accused of planning to fatally shoot customers and workers of two Jonesboro, Georgia, comfort 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 business.

The indictment alleges that Foxworth, who is white, was motivated to shoot into the stores due to the perceived race, shade or national origin of the individuals inside the shops.

“No person should be afraid to shop or go to work in our community. Nor ought to individuals have to fret that they might be violently attacked due to the colour of their pores and skin,” U.S. Lawyer Ryan Ok. Buchanan mentioned in a press release.

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 is 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 sufferer’s actual or perceived race, color, faith or nationwide origin.

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

The costs in opposition to Foxworth come in the wake of the mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket.

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

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

U.S. Assistant Legal professional General for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke speaks throughout a news conference on the Department 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 in the Northern District of Georgia, a spokesperson for the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace told ABC Information.

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

ABC Information' Luke Barr contributed to this report.