SEATTLE — A 37-year-old man from Washington State is facing charges for allegedly making threats of "racially motivated violence" toward a Buffalo grocery store.
According to the criminal complaint, Joey David George allegedly called the Tops grocery store on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo on July 19 and July 20 and "threatened to shoot Black people in the store." The complaint also alleges that George made comments about a "race war" in his second call.
Following the call, the U.S. Department of Justice says law enforcement traced the phone number and identified George as the alleged caller.
The threat comes two months after the Buffalo mass shooting that killed 10 Black people and injured three others at the Tops store on Jefferson Avenue.
"The Buffalo community is trying to heal from the horrific shooting at a Tops grocery store. I cannot imagine the type of fear such hate fueled threats engendered in those just trying to go about their daily lives," said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. "We cannot tolerate this kind of hate in our community and will not sit by while people seek to terrorize others across our country."
The U.S. Department of Justice says George was arrested Thursday afternoon and has been charged with making interstate threats. Pending further court hearings, George is being held at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, Washington.
George has also been charged in connection with allegedly threatening to shoot Black and Hispanic customers at a restaurant in California two months earlier.
In addition, the criminal complaint also details other threatening calls George allegedly made in Maryland, Connecticut and Washington State over the past 12 months. The U.S. Department of Justice says, George allegedly "used racial slurs and threats to shoot customers at the businesses because of his racial hatred."