A 47-year-old Maine man is facing federal charges for making threats against his Black neighbor, officials said.
Charles Allen Barnes of Lewiston, which is about 36 miles from Portland, was arrested on Tuesday, Sept. 12, and charged with one count of violating the federal interstate threats statute, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecutors allege that Barnes targeted his neighbor, labeled as K.T., and her son due to their race. According to an indictment, Barnes is accused of using an “internet-based multimedia messaging service” to send the threatening voicemail in August 2022. He claimed he was near the neighbor’s home with intentions to kill “any Black person who emerged.”
“I’ve been parked out outside [K.T’s] apartment since early this f**cking morning, sis. Waiting for someone to step outside, and the first one who does is gonna die. Just like that,” he said, court documents allege. “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 n***er.”
According to the DOJ, he faces up to five years behind bars. The FBI Boston Division investigated the incident.
Per Law & Crime, Barnes took to his Facebook account to air out his grievances since his charges were announced.
“Ever since the story put out by Maine’s Attorney General [sic], came out about me, my life has been hell. Between consistent tampering with my car, harassment from a few customers, eviction, death threats … ect,” he said, according to the outlet. “Charged and Convicted are two separate things but no one cares.”
In another story of a Black person’s civil rights reportedly being violated, earlier this month, an Alabama woman who prosecutors say violated her Black neighbor’s civil rights was sentenced to 12 months in prison. The DOJ said Cheryl Lynn Pytleski hung “racially offensive homemade dolls” on her neighbor’s fence to intimate them.
