Back in August, a 28 year old man named Floyd Lee Corkins fired a shot at a security guard at the headquarters of the Family Research Council. At the time, there was at least some indication that Corkins was motivated by his opposition to the groups strongly conservative political position on issues such as a same-sex marriage. Today, Corkins was indicted on a number of charges, including terrorism-related charges:
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Virginia man on new terrorism charges for allegedly shooting a security guard at the Family Research Council (FRC) in Washington, D.C., this summer.
The Justice Department is charging Floyd Lee Corkins, 28, with committing an act of terrorism while armed, attempted murder while armed, aggravated assault while armed and second-degree burglary while armed.
The new charges are in addition to an indictment for possessing and transporting a firearm into D.C. for the purpose of committing a violent crime. The government filed those charges against Corkins in August, immediately following the shooting, which wounded a security guard at the conservative Christian group’s headquarters.
The DOJ contends that on Aug. 15, Corkins approached an unarmed security guard at the FRC building in Northwest Washington. Corkins allegedly pulled a gun from his backpack, opened fire and struck the arm of the guard, who then wrestled the firearm away from Corkins, according to the DOJ.
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Wednesday’s indictment is the first time the government has charged someone with violating the District of Columbia’s Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002, which qualifies a person’s terrorist intent as an attempt to “intimidate or coerce a significant portion of the civilian population of the District of Columbia or the United States.”
On the terrorism charges alone, Corkins could face up to 30 years in prison.
