A Lewiston man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to one count of threatening communications in interstate commerce for sending racist death threats to a Black family living in his apartment complex.
Charles Allen Barnes, 46, recorded a voice message in Facebook Messenger, in which he used racist slurs and threatened, in graphic and violent terms, to kill his neighbor.
In the message, Barnes said he was waiting outside the family’s apartment and would kill the first person to come out: “Just like that. I don’t care if it’s her kid, or her, or her boyfriend. I don’t care, I don’t care. I’m killing me a [racist slur].”
He then sent the recording to an acquaintance of his whom he knew to be a personal friend of the neighbor. The acquaintance forwarded the recording to the neighbor, to warn her about Barnes.
Under the terms of the plea deal, Barnes faces up to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. If the judge determines that Barnes intentionally picked the victim of his crime because of the victim’s race, a sentencing enhancement will be applied, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
