Overview

James Harris Jackson is a white supremacist who fatally stabbed a black man multiple times in New York City on March 20, 2017. On January 23, 2019, Jackson pled guilty to first-degree murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism, second-degree murder as a crime of terrorism, second-degree murder as a hate crime, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon in what became New York state’s first prosecution of a white supremacist on terrorism charges.David K. Li, “White supremacist pleads guilty to race-hate murder of black man in New York,” NBC News, January 23, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/white-supremacist-pleads-guilty-race-hate-murder-black-man-new-n961731. In a videotaped confession, Jackson said that he believed black people were “inferior” and had to be “exterminated.” He was sentenced to life in prison without parole—the maximum penalty under New York state law—in February.Jonathan Dienst, “White Supremacist Who Pleaded Guilty to NYC Sword Slaughter of Random Black Man Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole: DA,” NBC New York, February 13, 2019, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/James-Jackson-Sword-Killing-White-Supremacist-Sentencing-505766751.html.

Jackson grew up with two brothers in a liberal middle-class family in Towson, Maryland. He graduated from Friends School of Baltimore, a private school serving students in pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade that embraces the Quaker principles of non-violence and equality. In March 2009, Jackson joined the U.S. Army as a military intelligence analyst. After being stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and then at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, Jackson was assigned to Germany in October 2009. In October 2010, he was deployed to Afghanistan where he wrote daily intelligence summaries and helped countering the threat of improvised explosive devices, according to his LinkedIn profile. Jackson left the military in 2012 and enrolled in a bachelor’s program in computer networks and security at the University of Maryland University College in 2013, but he did not complete his coursework.Jean Marbella, “A Baltimore man's inexplicable path from Quaker school to Army to Rikers Island cell,” The Baltimore Sun, April 14, 2017, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-jackson-profile-20170414-story.html; David K. Li, “White supremacist pleads guilty to race-hate murder of black man in New York,” NBC News, January 23, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/white-supremacist-pleads-guilty-race-hate-murder-black-man-new-n961731.

On March 17, 2017, Jackson traveled from Baltimore to New York City with the intention of killing numerous black men.Ellen Moynihan and Stephen Rex Brown, “EXCLUSIVE: White supremacist James Jackson reveals deranged desire to kill black men to save white women in jailhouse interview,” Daily News, March 26, 2017, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/james-jackson-twisted-regrets-killing-timothy-caughman-article-1.3009736; Jan Ransom, “White Supremacist Pleads Guilty to Killing Black Man in New York to Start a ‘Race War’,” New York Times, January 23, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/nyregion/timothy-caughman-white-supremacist-guilty.html. On March 20, he fatally stabbed Timothy Caughman, a 66-year-old black man who was collecting cans and bottles to recycle. Jackson claimed that Caughman’s murder was “practice” and that he initially planned to commit a larger attack against younger black men in Times Square.Jean Marbella, “A Baltimore man's inexplicable path from Quaker school to Army to Rikers Island cell,” The Baltimore Sun, April 14, 2017, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-jackson-profile-20170414-story.html. He spent three days stalking different black men, eventually selecting Caughman as a target “because he was black and alone on a dark street.”David K. Li, “White supremacist pleads guilty to race-hate murder of black man in New York,” NBC News, January 23, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/white-supremacist-pleads-guilty-race-hate-murder-black-man-new-n961731. At about 11:15 p.m., Jackson attacked Caughman from behind and stabbed him with a 26-inch “Roman-style sword.” Caughman died shortly after. Jackson fled the scene, but turned himself in to police several hours later. He told detectives that he was processing, saying, “If I just stab another person what difference does that make? The point’s already been made.”Jean Marbella, “A Baltimore man's inexplicable path from Quaker school to Army to Rikers Island cell,” The Baltimore Sun, April 14, 2017, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-jackson-profile-20170414-story.html; Kimberley Richards, “White supremacist told police he stabbed Timothy Caughman to death as ‘practice’ for larger race terror attack,” Independent, September 21, 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/james-harris-jackson-timothy-caughman-baltimore-stabbing-ny-times-square-racist-attack-a8549011.html.

According to official reports, Jackson sought to commit a “terrorist attack” that would “influence the national conversation.”Kimberley Richards, “White supremacist told police he stabbed Timothy Caughman to death as ‘practice’ for larger race terror attack,” Independent, September 21, 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/james-harris-jackson-timothy-caughman-baltimore-stabbing-ny-times-square-racist-attack-a8549011.html. He wanted to “inspire white men to kill black men, to scare black men and to provoke a race war.” His goal was “a global policy aimed at the complete extermination of the Negro race.”Jan Ransom, “White Supremacist Pleads Guilty to Killing Black Man in New York to Start a ‘Race War’,” New York Times, January 23, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/nyregion/timothy-caughman-white-supremacist-guilty.html. He had been “thinking about it for a long time, for the past couple of years.”Ellen Moynihan and Stephen Rex Brown, “EXCLUSIVE: White supremacist James Jackson reveals deranged desire to kill black men to save white women in jailhouse interview,” Daily News, March 26, 2017, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/james-jackson-twisted-regrets-killing-timothy-caughman-article-1.3009736; Jan Ransom, “White Supremacist Pleads Guilty to Killing Black Man in New York to Start a ‘Race War’,” New York Times, January 23, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/nyregion/timothy-caughman-white-supremacist-guilty.html. He was particularly angered by interracial relationships between black men and white women.Daniella Silva, “White Supremacist James Harris Jackson Charged With Terrorism for Killing Black Man in NYC,” NBC News, March 27, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/terrorism-charges-white-man-accused-hunting-down-black-men-n739146; Ellen Moynihan and Stephen Rex Brown, “EXCLUSIVE: White supremacist James Jackson reveals deranged desire to kill black men to save white women in jailhouse interview,” Daily News, March 26, 2017, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/james-jackson-twisted-regrets-killing-timothy-caughman-article-1.3009736. Jackson had shared his white supremacist and nationalist beliefs with like-minded people online, including on sites like the neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer. On YouTube, he allegedly subscribed to multiple white nationalist channels and liked racist videos, but did not upload original content himself.Jean Marbella, “A Baltimore man's inexplicable path from Quaker school to Army to Rikers Island cell,” The Baltimore Sun, April 14, 2017, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-jackson-profile-20170414-story.html.

On March 27, 2017, Jackson was charged in New York State Supreme Court with first- and second-degree murder as an act of terrorism, second-degree murder as a hate crime as well as three counts of criminal possession of a weapon.Daniella Silva, “White Supremacist James Harris Jackson Charged With Terrorism for Killing Black Man in NYC,” NBC News, March 27, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/terrorism-charges-white-man-accused-hunting-down-black-men-n739146. He initially pled not guilty. In April 2017, Jackson’s parents decided to no longer pay for their son’s legal defense.Jean Marbella, “A Baltimore man's inexplicable path from Quaker school to Army to Rikers Island cell,” The Baltimore Sun, April 14, 2017, https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-jackson-profile-20170414-story.html. On January 23, 2019, Jackson pled guilty to murder in furtherance of terrorism and criminal possession of a weapon.David K. Li, “White supremacist pleads guilty to race-hate murder of black man in New York,” NBC News, January 23, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/white-supremacist-pleads-guilty-race-hate-murder-black-man-new-n961731. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole—the maximum penalty under New York state law—on February 13, 2019.Jonathan Dienst, “White Supremacist Who Pleaded Guilty to NYC Sword Slaughter of Random Black Man Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole: DA,” NBC New York, February 13, 2019, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/James-Jackson-Sword-Killing-White-Supremacist-Sentencing-505766751.html.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said of Caughman’s murder, “This was a case of terrorism, just as any Islamic jihadist who has come to New York City and sought to kill New Yorkers in an effort to interrupt and destabilize our way of life.”David K. Li, “White supremacist pleads guilty to race-hate murder of black man in New York,” NBC News, January 23, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/white-supremacist-pleads-guilty-race-hate-murder-black-man-new-n961731.