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‘Disgusting’: North Carolina Man Who Threatened to ‘Shoot Up a Black Preschool’ and Skin ’20 Black Babies’ Gets Sweetheart Deal

Posted byBy Yasmeen Freightman | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

A North Carolina man will spend time in federal prison for threatening to shoot up a preschool and murder young Black children.

Zachary Charles Newell, 26, was charged with communicating threats of mass violence last September for the disturbing posts he made on social media last year.

Zachary Charles Newell, 26, was sentenced to two years behind bars for threatening to shoot up a Black preschool and skin 20 Black preschoolers. (Photo: Department of Justice)

According to the Justice Department, Newell “became obsessed with extremist content on the internet. He posted scores of threatening comments on YouTube directed at racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.”

In one post on Aug. 27, 2025, he wrote, “I’m gonna shoot up a black preschool. 20 black babies will be shot and then skinned.” Federal authorities say he wrote the threat while commenting on public YouTube channels discussing a wrestling match involving Raja Jackson.

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Four days later, Google notified the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center of the threatening posts Newell made through his YouTube account, “CommentatorsHateMe.”

“The defendant’s alleged threats deeply disturb us as federal law enforcement agents and have no place in our society, certainly not in Eastern North Carolina. We will meet this evil with the full force of the federal law enforcement apparatus,” U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle wrote in a release on Newell’s arrest. “We will not tolerate using the internet to spread fear or target communities, especially innocent children, with heinous threats of violence.”

After his arrest, Newell confessed to making the post and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to two years behind bars.

Had he gone to trial, he could have faced up to five years in federal prison.

“Inmate Newell threatened to become the next school shooter—at a preschool no less. Targeting babies for murder—simply because of the color of their skin—is disgusting and unacceptable in civilized society. The FBI quickly responded, preventing a shooting and brought a dangerous man to justice,” Boyle wrote in a release on Newell’s sentence.

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