Last week, a Kentucky man was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, followed by a year of supervised release, after pleading guilty to a federal hate crime in Louisiana, officials announced Tuesday.
Court records reveal that on or about October 14, 2020, Brian Adams, 24, from Paintsville, Kentucky, issued a threatening communication to a fifth-grade class at Laureate Academy Charter School.
Officials stated that the threat was made during a virtual class session on Zoom, a result of the COVID-19 pandemic precautions.
Adams directed racial slurs, including the N-word, at both students and teachers and threatened to “hang them by a tree.” His guilty plea was specifically for transmitting threatening communications, and the court determined his actions were motivated by racial hatred.
“This prosecution should make clear that perpetrators of hate crimes hiding behind computer screens, hacking into teleconferences and disrupting virtual meetings will be held accountable. The defendant used racial epithets and threats against innocent children who were simply trying to get an education,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “No child should ever have to endure racially motivated hatred like this in a classroom, a school or anywhere else.”
Investigators tracked Adams down through his ‘alex jones’ handle, and on November 3, 2021, they raided his father’s Paintsville, Kentucky, home, where he also lived, according to the Daily Mail.
After seizing his electronics and being questioned, Adams admitted to the ‘Zoom-bombing’ incident and said he also was behind the YouTube video, the Daily Mail reported.
He confessed to stealing over $1,000 worth of electronics stolen Best Buy rewards points, prosecutors said.
“Citizens should not fear threats based on their race at any time and especially for students while pursuing their education,” said U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement to ensure hate crimes are investigated, prosecuted and to ultimately hold perpetrators responsible for their actions.”
“Hate has no place in our country, especially in a fifth-grade classroom,” said Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil of the FBI New Orleans Field Office. “Protecting the rights of all Americans under the Constitution is the heart of the FBI’s mission.”
The FBI New Orleans Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey N. Knight for the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case.