NORFOLK, Va. -- A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to threatening to burn down a Black church in Virginia days after one of the church’s leaders took part in a vigil for George Floyd.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 63-year-old John Malcolm Bareswill entered the plea Wednesday, nearly two months after he was arrested on charges related to his alleged threat.
Authorities say Bareswill also made racist remarks when he called the Baptist church in Virginia Beach to make the threats in June.
The release says he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison in November. It is not immediately clear if Bareswill had a lawyer who could comment.
