Lewiston man gets more than two years in prison for racist, threatening audio message

PORTLAND — A Lewiston man will spend more than two years behind bars after making threats and using racial slurs on a Lewiston woman and her family.

U.S. District Judge John Woodcock on Wednesday sentenced Charles Allen Barnes, 47, to 30 months in prison for sending threatening messages in interstate commerce, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

The case is based on the audio message Barnes sent on Facebook to a friend of the victim, identified in court records as KT, on August 30, 2022.

In the hateful message left by Barnes, who is white, and intended to be delivered to the victim, who is black, he repeatedly called her a “n—” and a “black bitch” and threatened to “cut her out,” “cut her tongue out” and kill her, her children or her boyfriend, prosecutors said.

Woodcock concluded that the crime was racially motivated, leading to harsher sentences.

In the message, Barnes said he was parked in front of the 32-year-old woman’s apartment and was “waiting for someone to step outside and the first one who does is going to die… I don’t care if it’s her kid, or her, or her boyfriend. I don’t care… I’m going to kill myself (racial slur).”

Later that day, Barnes, who lives in the same Lewiston apartment complex as the victim, was sitting in a chair on a strip of grass along the driveway that leads from the complex to the street.

Barnes had a sheath attached to his belt that contained a large hunting knife. Lewiston police went to the apartment complex, located Barnes, disarmed him, handcuffed him, and arrested him on a charge of terrorizing.

The victim’s boyfriend, identified as DF, testified Wednesday that Barnes had frequently used racial slurs and told racist jokes in previous unsolicited communications with her.

She said she once lived in the same apartment complex as him and that he had added her as a friend on her public Facebook page.

DF said she had been friends with the victim for a long time and immediately shared Barnes’ Facebook post with her friend, out of fear for the victim’s safety.

Barnes pleaded guilty to the charge in March.

The victim, who gave a statement Wednesday through the prosecutor’s victim advocate about the impact of the incident, said the threatening audio recording had changed her and her family’s lives and left her fearful for her own life and those of her boyfriend, young daughter and son.

She urged the judge to sentence Barnes to prison, calling his actions “unacceptable.”

Barnes said he was sorry “for the actions” he took that day, that he regretted them and wished he could take them back.

He said what he did to the victim was “unforgivable.”

However, Woodcock noted that Barnes never apologized to the victim.

“Instead, he talked about himself,” Woodcock said.

He referred to comments Barnes made after his arrest in which he “sees himself as a victim of his own crime.”

“There are too many people who have racist views about other people,” Woodcock said, “and they are damaging our society.”

According to Woodcock, Barnes’ punishment was partly intended to send a message.

He called the language Barnes used “appalling” and his actions “disgraceful.”

The racial slur Barnes used dates back to the days of slavery, Woodcock said, adding that he couldn’t describe “how morally wrong it is (to use that term) when it comes to a fellow citizen.”

Woodcock reminded Barnes that Maine had fought on the side of the Union Army in the Civil War and added, “I have no idea where you get this hatred from.”

Woodcock listed Barnes’ criminal history, citing a dozen convictions, including domestic violence convictions.

He said he hoped that over time Barnes would learn to change his attitude toward women and people “who don’t look like you.”

Woodcock suspended Barnes’ sentence until next month, when he must report to federal prison.

After his release from prison, Barnes will be under supervision for three years. During that time, he must undergo mental health counseling, be prohibited from possessing firearms or dangerous weapons, including knives, and have no contact with the victim or her family.

Attorney General Aaron Frey filed a civil complaint against Barnes under the Maine Civil Rights Act in April 2023. The complaint sought a civil injunction prohibiting him from having contact with the victim or any member of her family and violating the Maine Civil Rights Act.

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