The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the sentencing of a Lewiston, Maine, man who made a racist threat targeting his Black neighbors.
Charles Allen Barnes, 47, admitted to sending a voice message in which he said he was outside that neighbor’s residence and would kill anyone who came out. Barnes repeatedly used racial slurs when referring to the victims. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
“We welcome the sentencing in this troubling case of racist hate and urge elected officials and community leaders to take concrete actions to push back against the rising bigotry we are witnessing nationwide,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “Racist threats inevitably result in violent actions targeting minority communities.”
He noted that yesterday, CAIR welcomed a guilty plea by an Indiana woman who was charged last year for a bias-motivated stabbing targeting an Asian student at Indiana University.
Hooper said CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com