A Maryland man was charged with several offenses, including a hate crime, after he allegedly targeted his Black neighbors in two different incidents that took place within weeks of each other.
According to Charles County deputies, 50-year-old Michael Gerard Benedict was arrested for two separate incidents that took place on April 4 and April 28.
On April 4, deputies were called to Benedict’s neighborhood to respond to a dispute with two of his Black neighbors, according to charging documents cited by the Southern Maryland News Net and the Longview News-Journal.
The victims told responding officers that Benedict, who is white, yelled “You stupid n—rs” and “n—rs with big lips” at them when they arrived home. Benedict then allegedly threw sticks and other objects into their yard, while shouting that he would “burn their house down with them inside.”
When deputies located Benedict, he admitted that he was involved in an argument with his neighbors and may have used a racial slur and made a comment about burning their home. He told deputies he was upset because of loud music blasting from their home and their motion-activated security cameras, which he said were always sounding off.
Benedict was charged with making threats of arson for the incident.
His neighbor petitioned for a peace order that prohibited Benedict from making contact with or harassing him or his family. A judge approved the injunction on April 8, but only weeks later, deputies were called back to Benedict’s home after he violated the order.
On April 28, the neighbor called local law enforcement to report that Benedict had, once again, started yelling the N-word and other insults at him and his family when they arrived home from an outing that day.
The victim reported that he feared for his and his family’s safety due to their previous encounters with Benedict.
When officers arrived, they found Benedict sitting in his driveway. Court documents say the 50-year-old ignored multiple commands police made, then tried to grab two officers’ firearms, and physically resisted arrest.
The altercation reportedly escalated when Benedict kicked a sergeant, attempted to bite another officer’s hand, and then tried headbutting two other officers, charging documents say. When he was finally subdued and taken to a patrol car, he allegedly yelled more obscenities toward the victim’s property.
He was charged with three counts of second-degree assault on law enforcement officers, resisting arrest, committing a race/religion-based crime against a person, and failing to comply with a peace order.
He is being held in a local jail without bond.
