The white man accused of brutally murdering a 66-year-old black man because of the color of his skin has been charged with terrorism offenses.

James Harris Jackson, 28, is facing the prospect of life in prison without parole based off charges filed by the New York District Attorney's Office on Monday, in relation to the death of Timothy Caughman.

The office released a statement explaining why it was charging the 28-year-old with murder as an act of terrorism and murder as a hate crime, as well as three counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

'James Jackson prowled the streets of New York for three days in search of a black person to assassinate in order to launch a campaign of terrorism against our Manhattan community and the values we celebrate,' DA Cyrus R. Vance Jr said in the statement.

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James Jackson, the white man who is accused of brutally murdering a 66-year-old black man because of the color of his skin has been charged with terrorism offenses. Jackson is pictured in Manhattan's Criminal Court on Monday March 27

'Last week, with total presence of mind, he acted on his plan, randomly selecting a beloved New Yorker solely on the basis of his skin color, and stabbing him repeatedly and publicly on a Midtown street corner.

'James Jackson wanted to kill black men, planned to kill black men, and then did kill a black man.'

The statement continued: 'He chose Midtown as his crime scene because Manhattan is the media capital of the world, and a place where people of different races live together and love one another.

'We must never take for granted New York’s remarkable diversity.

Jackson (pictured Monday) is facing life in prison without parole based off charges filed by the New York District Attorney's Office on Monday, in relation to the death of Timothy Caughman

Jackson is seen standing with his lawyer inside Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday March 27

'We must celebrate it, protect it, and refuse to let violence and hate undermine the progress we have made as a city, a state, and a nation.'

The charges were announced after Jackson earlier said he intended the killing to be a 'practice run' as part of his mission to deter interracial relationships.

The accused killer made the disgusting comments during an interview with the New York Daily News that he gave while locked up at Riker's Island.

He said he envisioned a white woman thinking: 'Well, if that guy feels so strongly about it, maybe I shouldn't do it.'

Caughman (pictured) was collecting cans in Midtown Manhattan on Monday when he was allegedly stabbed to death by Jackson with a sword

Police found two knives - one of which was the black sword reportedly used to kill Caughman - in the Jackson's coat at the police station

Just days ago, police removed a large black case from Jackson's Baltimore home where he'd been living (above)

Jackson said in retrospect, he would rather have killed 'a young thug' or 'a successful older black man with blondes ... people you see in Midtown. These younger guys that put white girls on the wrong path.'

James Harris Jackson, 28, has been identified as a military veteran who served in Afghanistan

He complained that on television, 'it's like every other commercial in the past few years has a mixed-race couple in it.'

'The white race is being eroded. ... No one cares about you. The Chinese don't care about you, the blacks don't care about you,' he said.

The 28-year-old alleged victim, who was remembered as a gentleman and a good neighbor, was alone and collecting bottles for recycling last week when he was attacked from behind with a sword.

He staggered, bleeding, into a police station and later died at a hospital.

The 28-year-old accused murderer who was raised in what was described as a churchgoing, liberal family in a Baltimore suburb, told the Daily News his ideal society is '1950s America.'

Jackson was in the Army from 2009 to 2012 and worked as an intelligence analyst, the Army said. Deployed in Afghanistan in 2010-11, he earned several medals and attained the rank of specialist.

Jackson was in the Army from 2009 to 2012 and worked as an intelligence analyst

After he was arrested last Wednesday, Jackson was seen being escorted from a Midtown Precinct while wearing a white Hazmat suit

The military training, Jackson said, helped him plan the bloodshed.

'I had been thinking about it for a long time, for the past couple of years,' he said. 'I figured I would end up getting shot by police, kill myself, or end up in jail.'

His attorney, Sam Talkin, has said if the allegations are anywhere close to being true, 'then we're going to address the obvious psychological issues that are present in this case.'

Jackson was pictured in surveillance footage police released last Monday; he handed himself in to police in Times Square after midnight last Tuesday



