Federal hate crime fees announced against man accused of plotting racist taking pictures in Georgia

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

19 May 2022, 13:58

• 3 min read

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

Larry Edward Foxworth allegedly fired a gun repeatedly into two comfort stores 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 because of the perceived race, shade or national origin of the individuals inside the stores.

“No individual should be afraid to buy or go to work in our neighborhood. Nor should people have to worry that they might be violently attacked due to the color of their skin,” U.S. Lawyer Ryan Ok. Buchanan mentioned 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 but entered a plea.

He's being charged under the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act, which makes it a federal crime to willfully trigger bodily damage, or attempt to do so utilizing a harmful weapon due to the victim’s precise or perceived race, color, faith or nationwide origin.

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

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

The 18-year-old suspect in Buffalo shot and killed 10 people, 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 Basic Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated. “Thankfully no one was injured by the conduct alleged on this case, but 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 Normal for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke speaks during a news conference on the Division of Justice, Aug. 5, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

This is the first 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 instructed ABC Information.

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

ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.