Federal hate crime prices announced against 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 expenses have been introduced in opposition to 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 stores at 2:30 a.m. on July 30, 2021. Both stores had been open for business.

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

“No individual must be afraid to buy or go to work in our community. Nor should folks have to fret that they may be violently attacked because of the colour of their 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 but entered a plea.

He is being charged under the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act, which makes it a federal crime to willfully trigger bodily injury, or try to do so using a harmful weapon because of the sufferer’s actual or perceived race, coloration, faith or nationwide origin.

Clayton County is a predominantly Black group, making up 72.8% of the population, according to 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 Lawyer Normal Kristen Clarke of the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division stated. “Thankfully no one was injured by the conduct alleged on this case, however the Justice Division is dedicated to using all of the tools in our regulation enforcement arsenal to prosecute allegations of hate crimes.”

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

That is the first time in about eight years that hate crime fees have been filed in the Northern District of Georgia, a spokesperson for the U.S. Legal professional’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.