A Missouri man has been indicted for a federal hate crime, accused of sending racist and threatening messages to the St. Louis chapter of the NAACP.

Darryl Jaspering, 62, of Warrenton faces one count of transmitting threatening communications and one count of interference of federally protected activities, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

The indictment states that Jaspering wrote a message on the NAACP contact page in which “he used racially charged threats to physically harm the recipients of his message.” It also states that Jaspering tried to intimidate NAACP employees “because of their race and color” and threatened the use of a dangerous weapon.

If Jaspering is convicted, he faces five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or both if he’s convicted for both charges.

The FBI St. Louis field office investigated the case.

Adolphus Pruitt II, president of the St. Louis chapter of the NAACP, said that the incident happened about a year ago and that he appreciates that federal authorities took the threats seriously.

“I hope it sends a clear message that no one has the right to make threats to individuals based on their race, creed, color, religion, sexual orientation,” Pruit said.

The NAACP in St. Louis filed a civil rights complaint this fall with the U.S. Department of Education aiming to address low literacy rates among Black and brown students in the St. Louis region.

The chapter also received multiple complaints from Black workers from across the region this year of racial intimidation. In February, Missouri Central School Bus came under scrutiny after a mechanic claimed a noose was intentionally placed near his workstation.

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