North Carolina man pleads guilty over armed racial threats
Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A North Carolina man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to a federal charge for racially harassing a group of people in a Charlotte pizza shop and threatening to kill them with a loaded military-style rifle.
The U.S. Justice Department announced that Maurice Hopkins, 32, had pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations over a June 2024 incident in which he targeted a group of eight Indians over their race, color, religion and national origin. The incident occurred during the height of the 2024 election when federal authorities warned of increased threats of violence against minority communities.
Officers arrived at the pizza shop after receiving a call about Hopkins, who was making racial remarks to the group and said he "had something for them" and was going to "get his AR" after being asked to leave, according to a police affidavit.
A witness told police that Hopkins left and returned with a white four-door vehicle. The witness saw the red tip sight on the gun and tried unsuccessfully to distract Hopkins from going into the store. Hopkins then entered the store and pointed the rifle at customers, according to the document.
During the incident, Hopkins asked the victims if they were Americans, and then proceeded to call them terrorists, demand they speak English and told them to go back to their country, according to the Justice Department release. The victims fled through the pizza shop's back door.
Hopkins' sentencing date has not been set. He could face a maximum of 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to one charge of interference with federally protected activities.
Around the same time of the incident, federal prosecutors indicted the leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi group that planned to kill minorities in New York City on New Year's Eve. The group allegedly plotted to have a recruit dressed as Santa Clause hand out poisoned candy.
Earlier that year, a group of Massachusetts eight-graders were charged criminally for their participation in a "mock slave auction" and making racist comments at Black students on Snapchat.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
15 minutes ago
- UPI
Abrego Garcia accuses Trump admin. of vindictive prosecution
Thousands of people across more than 700 locations in the United States demonstrated against President Donald Trump on Saturday, April 19, protesting his administration's policies during the second "day of action" organized by the 50501 movement. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Defense attorneys for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who the Trump administration wrongly deported to El Salvador this spring and then brought human trafficking charges against him once he returned to the United States, are accusing the Justice Department of vindictively prosecuting their client. In a motion filed Tuesday, Abrego Garcia's defense is asking the court to dismiss the charges brought against the 30-year-old Salvadoran national is punishment for him standing up to the Trump administration. "Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been singled out by the United States government. It is obvious why. And it is not because of the seriousness of his alleged conduct. Nor is it because he poses some unique threat to this country. Instead, Mr. Abrego was charged because he refused to acquiesce in the government's violation of his due process rights," Abrego Garcia's lawyers said in the motion. Abrego Garcia, a resident of Maryland who is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested amid the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration as part of its mass deportation plans. Despite a court order prohibiting his removal, he was deported to El Salvador in March and incarcerated in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, where he said he was subjected to torture. Abrego Garcia then challenged his removal in court, prompting the Trump administration to try and label him a gang member in public, while admitting in court it wrongly deported the immigrant. He was returned to the United States in June, but only after he was charged with human smuggling by the Justice Department. In the filing, his lawyers accused the Trump administration of conducting "a public campaign to punish Mr. Abrego for daring to fight back, culminating in the criminal investigation that led to the charges in this case." His lawyers point to comments from senior Trump administration officials, as well as President Donald Trump, calling him a criminal following his win in court that secured his return to the United States but before he was charged as proof of the White House's vindictiveness. "The government's motive has been to paint Mr. Abrego as a criminal in order to punish him for challenging his removal, to avoid the embarrassment of accepting responsibility for its unlawful conduct and to shift public opinion around Mr. Abrego's removal, including 'mounting concerns' with the government's compliance with court orders," they said in the filing. The Justice Department's case against Abrego Garcia stems from a November 2022 traffic stop in Putnam County, Tenn. Nine passengers were in the vehicle with him when stopped, but he was allowed to continue on his way, not even receiving a traffic ticket. The government alleges he was the driver in a human smuggling conspiracy, and his defense argues that the Trump administration "has gone to extreme lengths" to make its criminal case. His lawyers in the filing state that they have tried to secure the cooperation of multiple alleged conspirators who have already been sentenced to testify against Abrego Garcia, with its so-called star witness being a convicted leader of a human smuggling business with three felony convictions and who has been deported from the United States five times. According to the filing, the Justice Department arranged for this alleged co-conspirator to be released early from a 30-month sentence to a halfway house to cooperate against Abrego Garcia, while relatives or those in relationship with this person also appear to be provided with "similar benefits" for providing corroborating testimony. In the filing Tuesday, Abrego Garcia's lawyers argue that nothing had changed in the three years since the traffic stop, except for the government wrongly deporting him to El Salvador and that he challenged his deportation. "As a matter of timing, it is clear that it was that lawsuit -- and its effects on the government -- that prompted the government to re-evaluate the 2022 traffic stop and bring this case," the filing states. "[N]o similarly situated defendant -- an alleged driver in an alien smuggling conspiracy -- has ever had to wait two and a half years to be charged with a crime where the facts had not changed since the stop itself." His defense alleges that the only explanation for the timing of the charges is that the government has chosen to punish him for fighting his deportation. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty.
an hour ago
Julio César Chávez Jr. deported to Mexico for alleged cartel ties and drug trafficking
MEXICO CITY -- Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. has been deported to Mexico, where he's wanted for alleged cartel ties, following his arrest in the U.S. for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application. Chávez was handed over by authorities and admitted to a prison outside of the city of Hermosillo, in the northern state of Sonora, an official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the news at her daily press conference. 'I understand he was deported. I don't know if it was yesterday or this morning, but we were informed that he was arriving in Mexico," Sheinbaum said. Chávez, 39, had a warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. Alejandro Gertz Manero, Mexico's attorney general, said the investigation into Chávez started in 2019. The boxer, who is the son of legendary Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez, was arrested July 3 days after his high-profile fight with Jake Paul in California. Sheinbaum said after the arrest she hoped the boxer would be deported to face his charges. Chávez's father was a massive celebrity in the 1980s and '90s who mixed social circles with drug dealers and claimed to have been friends with drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes. The iconic fighter defended his son following his arrest, but has not spoken since the deportation. The younger Chávez has battled drug addiction for much of his boxing career, failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport. Chavez won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it three times. He shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both. In 2012, he was convicted of drunken driving in Los Angeles and sentenced to 13 days in jail. In January 2024, he was arrested on gun charges. Police said he possessed two AR-style ghost rifles. He was later freed on a $50,000 bond and on condition he went to a residential drug treatment facility. The case is still pending, with Chávez reporting his progress regularly.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Military deserter roommates allegedly confess to killing, dismembering missing Army vet: ‘I don't f–king regret it'
A pair of military deserters allegedly slaughtered and dismembered a member of their Army unit and dispersed parts of his corpse along a highway in New Mexico — and the one that pulled trigger said it was 'not a hard decision for him.' Rainor Joiner, 23, and David Degroat, 22, were both arrested by the Taos County Sheriff Department and allegedly confessed to murdering Matthew McLaughlin, a 25-year-old US Army veteran from West Virginia who was reported missing on July 31. 3 Army veteran Matthew McLaughlin, 25, was reported missing on July 31. The three men were all living together in New Mexico after serving in the same unit at Fort Benning in Georgia. Joiner and Degroat allegedly had active warrants out for their desertion. It's unclear how and when McLaughlin may have been relieved of service. Joiner allegedly told authorities he was fed up with McLaughlin for 'speaking ill of him, bringing random people to the residence, and the use of narcotics at the residence,' according to a criminal complaint obtained by KRQE. 3 Rainor Joiner allegedly told authorities he killed McLaughlin and didn't 'regret it.' Taos County Adult Detention Center The deserter and supposed mastermind behind the violent murder had apparently threatened to kill Degroat too if he didn't help or if he snitched, according to a confession signed by Joiner. Joiner allegedly confessed that he shot McLaughlin with Degroat's help, adding that 'I did it, I f–ked him, and I don't f–king regret it,' according to KOB. He also allegedly said killing his roommate was 'not a hard decision for him,' the documents state. Degroat contended that Joiner forced him to assist with the grisly murder and lure McLaughlin into an ambush while he was walking home with groceries. He allegedly told authorities that Joiner shot McLaughlin three times with an AR-15 style rifle — once in the chest and twice in the head. Afterwards, Joiner allegedly made Degroat hold open a plastic bag to place parts of McLaughlin's dismembered corpse in. From there, they dispersed the severed body parts along Highway 64. Once they were caught at their home, Joiner led authorities to each spot where they uncovered multiple trash bags with body parts inside that were turned over to the medical examiner's office. 3 David Degroat allegedly told authorities that Joiner forced him to help ambush McLaughlin. Taos County Adult Detention Center McLaughlin's grieving family members are struggling to fathom why people he trusted enough to move cross-country with would do such a thing. 'All I want to say is, I found out that they had planned this for weeks. I'll never see my son again,' his mother, Rebecca, told the Santa Fe New Mexican. The Army veteran is survived by his mother and seven siblings, according to a GoFundMe organized by a family friend. Joiner was charged with a laundry list of felonies, including first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery. Degroat is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence.
