Latest news with #MauriceHopkins
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mt. Holly man admits to racist threat with firearm at NoDa pizza shop
A Mt. Holly man pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation in a Charlotte court Tuesday after he admitted to threatening eight individuals with a firearm due to their race, color, religion, and national origin. The incident occurred in June 2024, inside a Zämbies Pizza in NoDa, where 32-year-old Maurice Hopkins confronted a group of friends, questioning their nationality and making derogatory remarks. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man kicked out of NoDa pizza shop for racist remarks returns with gun According to a release from the United State's Attorney's Office, he escalated the situation by leaving the restaurant and returning with a loaded AR-15 style rifle, causing the victims to flee. Court documents reveal that Hopkins threatened to punch the victims and retrieve a firearm to kill them. Hopkins pleaded guilty to one count of interference with federally protected activities, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He remains in federal custody as a sentencing date has not yet been set. VIDEO: 9 Investigates: Racist, antisemitic books found in Charlotte's 'Little Free Libraries' Solve the daily Crossword
UPI
12 hours ago
- UPI
North Carolina man pleads guilty over armed racial threats
A North Carolina man pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from an incident where he brandished an AR-15 style rifle and made racist threats to a group of Indians. File Photo by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department/UPI | License Photo 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.
