North Carolina man charged with threatening to burn down Black church

Authorities arrested a North Carolina man after he allegedly called and threatened to set a predominantly Black church on fire.

The man identified as John Malcolm Bareswill, 63, was arrested Friday and charged with threatening to burn down a Baptist church in Virginia Beach, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said.

According to prosecutors, Bareswill called the church and said "You (racial slur) need to shut up." He then allegedly threatened to burn the church in the call that was overheard on speakerphone by two adult parishioners and several children.

CNN reported, the church had ties to a peaceful demonstration over the death of George Floyd. A minister at the church had participated in a prayer vigil days earlier that marked Floyd's death, court documents say.

The Washington Post reported that the FBI and Virginia Beach police spoke with Bareswill, who denied making the call to the church and said he was asleep when the call was made. The affidavit said phone records showed the call was made from Bareswill’s phone and that someone had searched the internet with queries such as “Black Lives Matter protest held in Virginia” and a search for predominantly African-American churches.

Protest updates: Rayshard Brooks' widow speaks; Tulsa jaywalking arrest 'nonsense'

Bareswill is charged with making a telephonic threat to use fire to kill, injure or intimidate any individual or to unlawfully damage or destroy a building.

Court records did not immediately identify an attorney for Bareswill. If convicted, he will face up to 10 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.