White supremacist gets life in prison for Buffalo massacre

Asssociated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y.

A white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday after relatives of his victims confronted him with pain and rage caused by his racist attack.

Anger briefly turned physical at Payton Gendron’s sentencing when a victim’s family member rushed at him from the audience. The man was quickly restrained; prosecutors later said he wouldn’t be charged. The proceeding then resumed with an emotional outpouring from people who lost loved ones or were themselves wounded in the attack.

Mr. Gendron, whose hatred was fueled by racist conspiracy theories he encountered online, cried during some of the testimony and apologized to victims and their families in a brief statement.

Their remarks ranged from sorrow to outrage, shouts to tears. Some vehemently condemned him; others quoted from the Bible or said they were praying for him. Several pointed out that he deliberately attacked a Black community, a three-hour drive from his home in overwhelmingly white Conklin, N.Y.

“You’ve been brainwashed,” Wayne Jones Sr., the only child of victim Celestine Chaney, said as sobs rose from the audience. “You don’t even know Black people that much to hate them. You learned this on the internet.”

“I hope you find it in your heart to apologize to these people, man. You did wrong for no reason,” Mr. Jones said.

Mr. Gendron’s victims at the Tops Friendly Market — the only supermarket and a neighborhood hub on Buffalo’s largely Black East Side — included a church deacon, the grocery store’s guard, a man shopping for a birthday cake, a grandmother of nine and the mother of a former Buffalo fire commissioner. The victims ranged in age from 32 to 86.

Mr. Gendron pleaded guilty in November to crimes including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate, a charge that carried an automatic life sentence.

“There can be no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chances,” Judge Susan Eagan said as she sentenced him. She called his rampage “a reckoning” for a nation “founded and built, in part, on white supremacy.”

Mr. Gendron, 19, is due in a federal court Thursday for a status update in a separate case that could carry a death sentence if prosecutors seek it. His attorney said in December that Mr. Gendron is prepared to plead guilty in federal court to avoid execution. New York state does not have the death penalty. The gunman wore bullet-

Payton Gendron sheds tears as he listens to impact statements Wednesday during his sentencing for charges including murder and domestic terrorism motivated by hate in an Erie County courtroom in Buffalo, N.Y. Mr. Gendron, a white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket, was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Virginia Electric and Power Company (“Dominion”) has applied for approval to: implement new demand-side management (“DSM”) programs, which includes new programs to supplement the overall DSM Portfolio, new Program Bundles, as well as associated requests for additional funding; to expand the eligibility for a previously-approved DSM program; and to revise its Riders C1A, C2A, C3A, and C4A, by which Dominion recovers the costs of its DSM programs. Dominion requests a total of $107,442,503 for its 2023 Riders C1A, C2A, C3A and C4A. According to Dominion, this amount would increase the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month by $0.24.

• A Hearing Examiner appointed by the Commission will hold a telephonic hearing in this case on May 16, 2023, at 10 a.m., for the receipt of public witness testimony

• An evidentiary hearing will be held on May 17, 2023, at 10 a.m., in the Commission’s second oor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

• Further information about this case is available on the Commission’s website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/CaseInformation resistant armor and a helmet equipped with a livestreaming camera as he carried out the May 14 attack with a semiautomatic rifle he purchased legally but then modified so he could load it with illegal high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Mr. Gendron was hustled out of a courtroom Wednesday after someone in the audience at his sentencing rushed at him.

“Do I hate you? No. Do I want you to die? No. I want you to stay alive. I want you to think about this every day of your life,” Tamika Harper, a niece of victim Geraldine Talley, told Mr. Gendron. “Think about my family and the other nine families that you’ve de- stroyed forever.”

Mr. Gendron locked eyes with Ms. Harper as she gently spoke. Then he lowered his head and wept.

Minutes later, Barbara Massey Mapps excoriated him for killing her 72-yearold sister, Katherine Massey, a neighborhood activist. As Mrs. Mapps shouted and pointed at Mr. Gendron, a person in the audience took a few steps toward him before getting held back.

“You don’t know what we’re going through,” a man shouted as he was led away by court officers. For several minutes thereafter, family members hugged and calmed approved, the impact on customer bills would depend on the customer’s rate schedule and usage According to the Company implementation of the proposed Riders C1A, C2A, C3A, and C4A on September 1, 2023, would increase the monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month by $0.24. The Company represents that it has calculated the revised Riders C1A, C2A, C3A and C4A rates in accordance with the same methodology approved in the 2021 DSM Order

Dominion also seeks to expand the eligibility of the DSM Phase IX Agricultural Program. Speci cally the Company requests Commission approval to offer the DSM Phase IX Agricultural Program to its residential customers, in addition to non-residential customers

Dominion states that the Company has complied with the Commission directives and ling requirements relevant to this instant ling, speci cally the Commission s directives in its Final Order in the Company’s Evaluation, Measurement, and Veri cation (“EM&V”) proceeding, Case No PUR-2020-00156. The Company requests Commission approval of Phase XI Program EM&V Plans

Interested persons are encouraged to review the Application and supporting documents for the details of these and other proposals

TAKE NOTICE that the Commission may apportion revenues among customer classes and/or design rates in a manner differing from that shown in the Application and supporting documents and thus may adopt rates that differ from those appearing in the Company’s Application and supporting documents

“demand response” (“DR”) DSM Programs as these terms are de ned by Code

The Commission entered an Order for Notice and Hearing that, among other things, scheduled public hearings on Dominion’s Application. On May 16, 2023, at 10 a.m., the Hearing Examiner will hold a telephonic hearing, with no witness present in the Commission s courtroom, for the purpose of receiving the testimony of public witnesses On or before May 10, 2023, any person desiring to offer testimony as a public witness shall provide to the Commission (a) your name and (b) the telephone number that you wish the Hearing Examiner to call during the hearing to receive your testimony This information may be provided to the Commission in three ways: (i) by lling out a form on the Commission’s website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting; (ii) by completing and emailing the PDF version of this form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov; or (iii) by calling (804) 371-9141. This public witness hearing will be webcast at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting

On May 17, 2022, at 10 a.m., in the Commission s second oor courtroom located in the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, the Hearing Examiner will convene a hearing to receive testimony and evidence from the Company any respondents and Staff on the Company’s Application.

To promote administrative ef ciency and timely service of lings upon participants the Commission has directed the electronic ling of testimony and pleadings unless they contain con dential information, and required electronic service on parties to this proceeding. An electronic copy of the Company’s Application may be obtained by submitting a written request to counsel for the Company, Vishwa B Link, Esquire, McGuireWoods LLP Gateway Plaza, 800 East Canal Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, or vlink@mcguirewoods.com

On or before May 10, 2023, any interested person may submit comments on the Application by following the instructions found on the Commission s website: scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments of spending proposed in this Application on EE programs targeting low-income individuals when combined with the Company’s prior requests for EE spending since the passage of the GTSA and the Virginia Clean Economy Act, consists of a proposal for approximately $110 million of the proposed $713 million, excluding any amount of projected lost revenues

The Company requests through revised Riders C1A, C2A, and C3A, recovery of projected costs for September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024 (“2023 Rate Year”) associated with DSM Programs previously approved by the Commission in Case No PUE-2011-00093 electronically may le such notice by U.S mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above Such notice of participation shall include the email addresses of such parties or their counsel, if available The respondent simultaneously shall serve a copy of the notice of participation on counsel to the Company Pursuant to Rule 5 VAC 5-20-80 B Participation as a respondent of the Commission s Rules of Practice any notice of participation shall set forth: (i) a precise statement of the interest of the respondent; (ii) a statement of the speci c action sought to the extent then known; and (iii) the factual and legal basis for the action. Any organization, corporation, or government body participating as a respondent must be represented by counsel as required by Rule 5 VAC 5-20-30, Counsel, of the Rules of Practice All lings shall refer to Case No PUR-2022-00210.

On or before March 29, 2023, each respondent may le with the Clerk of the Commission, at scc.virginia.gov/clk/e ling any testimony and exhibits by which the respondent expects to establish its case Any respondent unable as a practical matter to le testimony and exhibits electronically may le such by U.S mail to the Clerk of the Commission at the address listed above Each witness’s testimony shall include a summary not to exceed one page All testimony and exhibits shall be served on Staff the Company and all other respondents simultaneous with its ling. In all lings, respondents shall comply with the Commission s Rules of Practice including 5 VAC 5-20-140, Filing and service; and 5 VAC 5-20-240, Prepared testimony and exhibits All lings shall refer to Case No PUR-2022-00210.

Any documents led in paper form with the Of ce of the Clerk of the Commission in this docket may use both sides of the paper In all other respects, except as modi ed by the Commission s Order for Notice and Hearing, all lings shall comply fully with the requirements of 5 VAC 5-20-150, Copies and format of the Commission s Rules of Practice The public version of the Company’s Application and other documents led in this case the Commission s Rules of Practice and the Commission s Order for Notice and Hearing may be viewed at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Case-Information

VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY