North Carolina Man Charged After Threatening To Burn Down A Black Church In Virginia

A North Carolina man was arrested on Friday for threatening to set fire to a black church that held a “peaceful demonstration” over George Floyd’s death. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

John Malcolm Bareswill, 63, called into the Virginia Beach Church on the morning of June 7th. “You [racial slur] need to shut up,” Bareswill said on the call, which was on speakerphone and overheard by several children and two adult parishioners. He later threatened to burn down the church during the same phone call. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

The threat comes days after church leaders participated in a prayer vigil and peaceful protest for the death of George Floyd. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Although investigators were able to trace the phone call to a cellphone belonging to Bareswill, he denied ever making the call. After further investigation, NBC reports, “[his] phone showed that [he] had searched for information about predominately Black churches in the area, including the one that received the call, according to the court documents. His cellphone data also revealed that a call to the church was placed on the morning of June 7.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Bareswill is being charged with making a telephonic threat to use fire to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual or to unlawfully damage or destroy a building. His next hearing is on June 17th.