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North Carolina man faces hate crime charges in pizza shop incident

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A North Carolina man faces charges on a series of federal civil rights and firearms violations for threats made in a Charlotte restaurant in June.

According to the indictment, Maurice Hopkins, 31, of Mount Holly, N.C., threatened eight people of Indian descent with a firearm inside Zambies Pizza, a restaurant in Charlotte.

When Hopkins was told to leave the restaurant, he told the customers “he ‘had something for them’ and that he was going to ‘get his AR,’” according to court documents.

Hopkins returned in a car with an assault rifle, and when a customer tried to distract Hopkins, he continued into the restaurant, saying: “No I’m back here for my pizza, now give me my f— pizza.”

He left the restaurant without any pizza, according to a police report, which indicates that Hopkins pointed the rifle at two people, and verbally communicated threats.

Hopkins faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each of the civil rights charges and a mandatory minimum prison sentence on the firearms charge.

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].

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