Federal hate crime charges announced towards man accused of plotting racist capturing in Georgia

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

19 May 2022, 13:58

• 3 min read

Hate crime fees have been announced against a man accused of planning to fatally shoot clients and workers 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. Both 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, shade or nationwide origin of the folks contained in the shops.

“No particular person needs to be afraid to buy or go to work in our community. Nor should individuals have to fret that they might be violently attacked due to the colour of their skin,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Okay. Buchanan said 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 cause bodily injury, or try to do so using a dangerous weapon due to the sufferer’s actual or perceived race, color, faith or national origin.

Clayton County is a predominantly Black neighborhood, making up 72.8% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The charges against Foxworth come within the wake of the mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket.

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 Lawyer Common Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said. “Thankfully nobody was injured by the conduct alleged in this case, however the Justice Division is committed to using all of the instruments in our law enforcement arsenal to prosecute allegations of hate crimes.”

U.S. Assistant Lawyer Normal 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 prices have been filed within the Northern District of Georgia, a spokesperson for the U.S. Lawyer’s Office informed ABC News.

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.