Federal hate crime costs 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 learn

Hate crime costs have been announced towards a person accused of planning to fatally shoot prospects and workers of two Jonesboro, Georgia, comfort shops.

Larry Edward Foxworth allegedly fired a gun repeatedly into two comfort shops at 2:30 a.m. on July 30, 2021. Both shops have been open for enterprise.

The indictment alleges that Foxworth, who is white, was motivated to shoot into the stores because of the perceived race, colour or national origin of the individuals contained in the stores.

“No individual should be afraid to shop or go to work in our neighborhood. Nor ought to folks have to fret that they might be violently attacked because of the colour of their pores and skin,” U.S. Lawyer Ryan Okay. Buchanan said in a statement.

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 underneath the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act, which makes it a federal crime to willfully cause bodily damage, or attempt to take action using a harmful weapon due to the sufferer’s precise or perceived race, colour, religion or nationwide origin.

Clayton County is a predominantly Black group, making up 72.8% of the inhabitants, based on the U.S. Census Bureau.

The fees towards 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 Common Kristen Clarke of the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division mentioned. “Fortunately nobody was injured by the conduct alleged on this case, however the Justice Division is committed to using all of the tools in our legislation enforcement arsenal to prosecute allegations of hate crimes.”

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

That is the primary time in about eight years that hate crime charges have been filed in the Northern District of Georgia, a spokesperson for the U.S. Lawyer’s Office informed 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.