A fleet of city politicians and activists called Friday for prosecutors to bring domestic terrorism charges against a white supremacist accused of slaying a black man with a sword.
James Jackson, 28, was charged Thursday with murder as a hate crime in the heinous slaughter of 66-year-old Timothy Caughman.
“What happened to Timothy is an act of terrorism,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said while waving a symbolic knife near the scene of the midtown murder.
“We need for (white supremacist groups) to be treated the same way as we treat ISIS.”
Prosecutors say Jackson traveled from Baltimore to New York to get maximum attention for his sick plot to execute black men.
The Baltimore butcher stalked several potential victims Monday night before settling on Caughman, who was rooting through garbage on Ninth Ave. in search of returnable cans and bottles, prosecutors said.
Approaching his victim from behind, Jackson sunk the 18-inch blade of his sword into Caughman’s chest, prosecutors said.
The Manhattan man died of internal bleeding caused by wounds to his spleen, bowels, pancreas, diaphragm and lung, authorities said.
“How can this be New York City in 2017?” said Evan Bernstein, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
“We say loudly and forcefully that this violence has no place in our city, our state or our country. If one of us is targeted, we’re all targeted. This cannot become the norm. It cannot happen.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office refused to comment Friday.
But prosecutors said Thursday the charges could be elevated because they believe Jackson was seeking to instill fear in the black community.
Jackson is now facing up to 25 years to life in prison, if convicted. An upgraded charge would make the accused killer eligible for a sentence of life behind bars without parole.
Brooklyn Councilman Robert Cornegy said he was convinced President Trump’s rhetoric on recent hate crimes helped fuel the attack.
“What he’s done has activated cells in this country that have existed for centuries,” Cornegy said.
Leaders from the Council on American-Islamic Relations said there was no doubt Jackson was bent on terrorizing the city.
“This was not just a hate crime,” said legal director Albert Cahn. “This was terrorism.”
