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A Kansas man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday (May 30) for allegedly flashing a gun and threatening to kill Black people on multiple occasions.
According to the Department of Justice, 30-year-old Austin Schoemann, who is white, brandished a firearm and used racial slurs against two Black teens at a gas station in an act of racial intimidation on July 27, 2022, per the Daily Beast. Schoeman also allegedly used the firearm to threaten another Black adult who attempted to intervene during the incident.
The indictment also states that Schoemann threatened to hurt or kill any Black people who visited the home of a white woman from January 2022 to August 2022. According to the DOJ, the man would stand outside of the woman's house and shout threats and racial slurs when he believed there were Black visitors. Schoemann also allegedly sent the woman's family videos and messages where he threatened to shoot and kill Black people.
In one instance, Schoemann allegedly destroyed the windshield of a car that he believed belonged to a Black visitor, vowing “to get rid of every (racial slur) in this town.”
If convicted, Schoemann faces up to 10 years in prison for firearms charges, five years for distributing threatening material online, and a minimum of seven years for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Schoemann has pleaded not guilty to the charge, and his trial is scheduled to begin on July 31.
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