JACKSON, Tenn., Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A Tennessee man was sent to prison for 14 years Friday for plotting the mass killing of blacks, including Barack Obama when he was a presidential candidate.
Daniel Cowart, 22, of Bells pleaded guilty in federal court in March to conspiring with Paul Schlesselman of West Helena, Ark., to foment a race war. Schlesselman pleaded guilty in January and received a 10-year sentence.
Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, called the sentence "serious punishment for a serious crime."
"Threats of violence fueled by bigotry and hate have no place in the United States of America, and they will not be tolerated," Perez said.
A Secret Service agent testified at Friday's hearing that he found e-mails on Cowart's computer about wanting to kill blacks in order to start a race war, The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun reported.
When he pleaded guilty, Cowart said he and Schlesselman planned to break into a gun dealer to steal weapons. He also admitted possession of an illegal sawed-off shotgun and to shooting out the windows of a Baptist church in Brownsville, Tenn.
