Man shoots 2 men because he thought they were immigrants

[Jilly_in_VA]

A Caroline County (VA) man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to pursuing and ultimately shooting two Latino men because of his “anger at illegal immigration.”

On Wednesday, June 18, Douglas W. Cornett of the Ruther Glen area pleaded guilty to two counts of federal hate crimes involving attempts to kill and one count of discharging a firearm during a federal crime of violence.

Court documents identify the two Latino men Cornett shot as “Victim 1” and “Victim 2.” Authorities in Spotsylvania previously said they are both from Prince William County.

On Feb. 28, 2024, Cornett was driving on Interstate 95 when he came up on a box truck driven by Victim 1. Per court documents, Cornett honked at the truck and remained behind it despite Victim 1 trying to let him pass. He then followed the truck to a fueling station.

Upon his arrival, Victim 1 spoke to a friend of his who worked at the fueling station. He asked that friend, who spoke English, to ask Cornett what was wrong. After a brief conversation between the friend and Cornett, Victim 1 left the fueling station.

Cornett proceeded to follow Victim 1 to the Thornburg area Sheetz, located close to the fueling station, according to court documents. Seeing this, Victim 1’s friend called Victim 2 and told him that someone was following Victim 1.

Victim 2 happened to be fueling up at the Sheetz at that time and he witnessed both Victim 1 and Cornett pulling into the station. Victim 2 then approached Cornett and asked him why he was following Victim 1. Cornett answered by asking Victim 2 how long Victim 1 had been in the United States.

With Victim 2 translating for them, Victim 1 said he had been in America for about a year and a half.

Cornett then pulled out a handgun and shot a total of six times. Victim 1 was hit three times and Victim 2 was hit once. Both had serious injuries. Per court documents, Cornett then left the scene, returned home and told the two people he lived with about what happened.

https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/caroline-county/guilty-plea-thornburg-sheetz-hate-crime-shooting/

"Shooter admitted to fantasizing about gunning down migrants at U.S.-Mexico border" He can het *no more than 24 years" becayse of his guilty plea. I ask you, is that enough?

[sop]

1. Cornett should have taken a job with ICE.

He would have immunity now.

[Lonestarblue]

2. What an idiot. He should never see the outside of a prison again.

We do not need vigilantes like him roaming around just looking to cause trouble and kill people.

[travelingthrulife]

9. After all, we have the vigilantes called ICE doing just that.

[Texin]

38. He just might NOT "see the outside of prison again." Quite a few don't live long enough to make it to parole,

or to the end of their sentence.

[Deep State Witch]

3. TACO Will Pardon Him

And give him a job with ICE.

[mdbl]

52. It's time for states to start prosecuting these crimes

so the head criminal can't keep pardoning them.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

57. The State of Virginia did prosecute and convict him and the judge

sentenced him to 2 life terms, so Been A Dick Donald cannot pardon him on state convictions.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

58. Maybe on the Fed. charges but he can't on the state charges.

This lunatic was charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to 2 life terms in a Virginia prison, so no pardon nor an ICEhole job for him.

[Diamond_Dog]

4. This is what FOX Fake News and Trump has stirred up and encouraged.

[DENVERPOPS]

12. Trump

has some Trumphumping MAGAots out there that make Trump look perfectly sane and rational.....

Trump is a master at inciting others to do his dirty work.......

[hadEnuf]

24. Bingo.

Trump and right-wing media are responsible for this and so much other violence. This has been going on even well before Trump.

These racist, asshole sleaze balls sit in front of the TV and radio all day just being fed absolute lies, specifically meant to infuriate them and coax them into some kind of confrontational violence.

If the Insurrectionist Act was ever to be used, it should have been used against right-wing media long ago.

[Eliot Rosewater]

5. One way or another this piece of shit will not serve much time.

For the obvious reason that he is Maga, if it has to be a pardon from the piece of shit, it will be etc.

[xocetaceans]

32. Yes, he will, because he has already been sentenced to life terms. The OP is only about the federal trial.

Here are the relevant excerpts from some other reporting, but I recommend reading the entire article for further context:

Gunman who shot 2 men for being Hispanic gets life sentence as judge faults anti-immigrant rhetoric
Shooter Douglas Cornett's attorney said his client was influenced by right-wing political rhetoric. Cornett offered an apology, saying: “I have no hatred for anybody. I have total remorse for this. Lo siento on my part.”

By Julie Carey, News4 Northern Virginia Bureau Chief • Published June 12, 2025 • Updated on June 12, 2025 at 7:52 pm

A man who shot and severely wounded two men in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, last year simply because they were Hispanic is headed to prison for the rest of his life. At the shooter’s sentencing on Thursday, the judge blamed anti-immigrant rhetoric for fueling the gunman’s hatred.

...

Cornett pleaded guilty in April to six charges. An aggravated malicious wounding charge carried a possible life sentence.

...

Cornett’s defense attorney asked for a lesser prison term. He said his client, an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, was influenced by right-wing political rhetoric. He also pointed to his client’s severe alcoholism and said Cornett was blackout drunk when he shot the victims.

...

Judge William Glover was unmoved and imposed the two life prison terms.

...

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/gunman-who-shot-2-men-for-being-hispanic-gets-life-sentence-as-judge-faults-anti-immigrant-rhetoric/3935011/

[Texin]

40. "He also pointed to his client's severe alcoholism and said Cornett was blackout drunk when he shot the victims".

Well, the judge was obviously wrong. If he was drunk enough to have blacked out, he wouldn't have been driving, filling up his tank or able to follow behind the victims and then shoot them with the intent to kill.

[xocetaceans]

43. Yes, that condition seemed to be highly improbable to be considered to be a mitigating circumstance, if even possible.

The cases, their descriptions, and their corresponding sentences, etc., are to be found here:

CR24000562-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---ATTMPT AGGRAV MUR, 1 + PERSONS---04/24/2025---Nolle Prosequi
CR24000563-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---HATE CRIME-ASSAULT & BATTERY---06/12/2025---Guilty Plea
CR24000564-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---HATE CRIME- ASSAULT & BATTERY---06/12/2025---Guilty Plea
CR24000565-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---DISCHARGE FIREARM IN PUBLIC---04/24/2025---Nolle Prosequi
CR24000566-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---SHOOTING IN COMM OF FELONY---04/24/2025---Nolle Prosequi
CR24000567-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---SHOOTING IN COMM OF FELONY---04/24/2025---Nolle Prosequi
CR24000568-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---SHOOT FRM VEH TO RISK INJURY---04/24/2025---Nolle Prosequi
CR24000866-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---USE FIREARM IN FELONY 1ST OFF---06/12/2025---Guilty Plea
CR24000867-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---USE FIREARM IN FELONY 1ST OFF---06/12/2025---Guilty Plea
CR24000868-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---MALIC WOUND-VIC PERM IMPAIRED---06/12/2025---Guilty Plea
CR24000869-00---CORNETT, DOUGLAS---MALIC WOUND-VIC PERM IMPAIRED---06/12/2025---Guilty Plea

https://eapps.courts.state.va.us/CJISWeb/MainMenu.do

The last two are the ones that carried the life sentences of 99 years each. (Use the Name List button (at top center of the webpage) to return to the list of cases after viewing the details of a specific case.)

[usedtobedemgurl]

44. Black out drunk is not the same as

Passed out drunk. Blackout drunk is when you do not remember anything. You could have not remembered watching tv the entire night or shooting people. Passed out is when you are in a sleep like state. You are passed out somewhere - a couch, bed, floor, street, etc.

That does not mean it excuses his actions in any way, but a lot of folks do not realize this. I have had to explain it over the years.

[orangecrush]

54. Blackouts are real

No excuse but there was a very famous case of a doctor who actually did surgeries and remembered none of it.

He was one of the co founders of A.A..

[usedtobedemgurl]

60. Yes, it seems both of our posts agree.

I had to counsel someone, once, when they were accused of rape.she did not remember a thing. They we're both drunk. She was blackout drunk. The only thing she knew was he had had session her. Neither one was sober enough to give consent, but that is another matter altogether. He said she had to remember it was consensual, because she was awake and conscious. He said he would never have had sex with someone who was passed it. It was a learning e,patience for both when I explained what blackout meant.

Also, as I said before, I agree that does not excuse anything.

[orangecrush]

61. I sure don't miss it

Will be 11 years sober this November.

I thought my life was over when I first got sober, turns out it had just begun..

I learned to enjoy things and be able to remember them the next day

[usedtobedemgurl]

62. So glad you found your way to the other side of that.

I hope that remains for you the rest of your life. May you only find luck and happiness.

[orangecrush]

63. Thank you!

[Eliot Rosewater]

45. Are you saying there's no chance the piece of shit is going to pardon him?

For context I never call him by his name the man in the White House well, he’s not a man either. He’s a stupid punk boy is a piece of shit. That is his name.

[xocetaceans]

46. The sentence in the OP is only the federal sentence: he's already been sentenced in Virginia under Virginia law.

So, it is largely irrelevant if Trump [I agree but HWSNBN is too obscure and too long] were to pardon him: he will still be serving life in Virginia.

Q: Does the President have authority to grant clemency for a state conviction?

A: No. The President’s clemency power is conferred by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which provides: “The President . . . shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” The President’s authority to grant clemency is limited to federal offenses and offenses prosecuted by the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia in the name of the United States in the D.C. Superior Court. An offense that violates a state law is not an offense against the United States. A person who wishes to seek a pardon or a commutation of sentence for a state offense should contact the authorities of the state in which the conviction occurred. Such state authorities are typically the governor or a state board of pardons and/or paroles, if the state government has created such a board.


[A note from further down the FAQ]:
In the federal system, commutation of sentence and pardon are different forms of executive clemency, which is a broad term that applies to the President’s constitutional power to give leniency to persons who have committed federal crimes.

https://www.justice.gov/pardon/frequently-asked-questions

[Ray Bruns]

50. They have AA meetings in prison. Or so I'm told.

[LunaSea]

6. More atrocities thanks to those that deliver absurdities.

"Cornett’s housemates also told detectives that he was “kind of obsessed” with cable news stories about undocumented immigrants entering the United States."

[gab13by13]

7. This is on Krasnov, not cable news.

Cable News just repeats Krasnov.

[Danascot]

49. An example of stochastic terrorism.

nt

[travelingthrulife]

8. He should have said he was ICE. Who would know?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Crime occurred before Krufty Gnome ICE. . . . . nt

[stillcool]

10. thanks FOX!

couldn't do it without you.

[raccoon]

13. No, it is not enough, goddammit.

This POS is 58. I hope he dies in jail.

[BidenRocks]

21. Where did you see his age?

Not in the OP or link.
A better job with the who, what, where, when and why.
This is the 2nd linked post missing one of those details.

[thesquanderer]

34. It's a plea deal, which is always more generous than the worst that could happen if it went to trial...

...otherwise, no one would take a plea deal. But at least we don't have to worry about him somehow getting off after a trial. And 24 years is still a hefty sentence. His victims (fortunately) did survive, after all. And I doubt he'll be a danger to very many people at 82.

[Aviation Pro]

14. Here's an image of the untethered, 57-year-old man who just threw away his life

What a fucking dreamboat this fuckstain is.

[littlemissmartypants]

20. I can smell him from here. Yuck.

[Martin68]

15. This has been happening for decades, nut under Trump it will get 100 times worse. Latinos killed for looking like

Muslims, Muslims killed for looking like Latinos, Indian Hindus killed for looking like Muslims or Latinos, etc, etc, etc.

[Emile]

16. The stupidity of magats is astonishing.

[surfered]

17. Is there a season on them now? What's the daily limit?

In Trump’s America.

[surfered]

18. He's a perfect candidate for El Salvador

[littlemissmartypants]

19. Imagine being so weak minded that you are brainwashed into becoming a murderer.

He's just one of many. I am so worried for my Hispanic friends.

[Vinca]

22. Sure hope the guy has an expensive house and a fat bank account because those 2 guys will be the

new owners of it all.

[BidenRocks]

23. Immigrants? Shooting?

Send in the Marines!
Posted from Los Angeles. Now fortified with 2000 extra guard troops playing Switch.

[Ping Tung]

25. He sounds like a very promising recruit for ICE.

[swong19104]

26. Send him to El Salvador

They have prisons for such crimes.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

27. How soon before Trump pardons him.

[AZLD4Candidate]

28. This is my fear each time my wife and I go out and want to have a conversation so no one can understand us

so we speak Mandarin. Some white nutjob with a gun bigger than his dick and an IQ smaller than the caliber of bullet will get stupid and try to pump holes in us because we are speaking "foreigner."

[cab67]

29. Anyone know how old he is?

For a young man, 24 years isn't nearly enough.

If he's in his 60's or later, it's a life sentence, as it should be.

[cab67]

30. just saw my question answered.

He's 57.

If he gets and serves the maximum sentence, he'd get out at 81.

Not sure if that's enough.

[Prairie_Seagull]

31. Wonder what his defence will be?

Fox and stump told me to! All undocumented immigrants are murderers and rapists don't you know. Jesus Cristo, many in our country have absolutely lost the plot.

Stated another way, WTF?

Best wishes to the maimed for a speedy recovery.

[Joinfortmill]

33. If either of these two poor victims die, give this motherfucker the death penalty...

Otherwise, throw him in prison for life and toss the keys. Ah, just read he got life. Good.

[kkmarie]

35. Shooter gets 2 life sentences

I was searching to see if this bastard had a job and found this article. Judge sentencing him to 2 life sentences, with more to possibly come on the federal hate crimes.
Interesting the Judge sites that if convicted at federal level he will probably get a pardon.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/gunman-who-shot-2-men-for-being-hispanic-gets-life-sentence-as-judge-faults-anti-immigrant-rhetoric/3935011/

A man who shot and severely wounded two men in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, last year simply because they were Hispanic is headed to prison for the rest of his life. At the shooter’s sentencing on Thursday, the judge blamed anti-immigrant rhetoric for fueling the gunman’s hatred.

Cornett offered an apology, saying: “I have no hatred for anybody. I have total remorse for this. Lo siento on my part.”
Judge William Glover was unmoved and imposed the two life prison terms.

Cornett also was indicted on hate crime charges in federal court and could face more jailtime.
The judge said, though, he has “little confidence, if convicted there, Corbett wouldn’t be pardoned,” in a clear reference to Trump’s pardons of hundreds of criminals.

Couldn't find any info if he's employed or if he is living off the teat of the government.

[ShazzieB]

39. Yes, Schlump can pardon him for any *federal* crime he's convicted of.

But any state level conviction will still stick, fortunately.

[AStern]

36. His fb page

https://www.facebook.com/douglasw.cornett

[Bristlecone]

37. Correction: "Because of anger he was TOLD he should have."

Propaganda works.

[onenote]

41. DOJ Statement says he is facing possible life sentence

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/virginia-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime-and-firearms-violation

"Cornett faces a mandatory 10-year sentence on the firearms violation and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for the two hate crimes. His final sentence will be determined by U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Nov. 13."

[Jilly_in_VA]

42. Good.

He deserves it.

[AverageOldGuy]

47. Thornburg VA

My son and family lived there for two years, thought it was a nice rural area found it was filled with MAGAt redneck backwoods dumbasses so they left.

[atreides1]

51. When does the pardon come?

Probably right before he's sentenced in November, so he can spend Thanksgiving with his loved ones!!!

And once again our wonderful attorney general bent over and let the feds have the case...Jason Miyares is about as useful as a dead battery and an off switch!!!

[MarineCombatEngineer]

56. He won't be spending Thanksgiving Day with his family unless they come visit him in prison,

Been A Dick Donald can pardon him for Fed. crimes, but not state crimes, this lunatic was tried, convicted and sentenced to 2 life terms in VA, so no pardon for him.

[Passages]

53. It's a horrible crime, scary to read how this went down.

The poor man was asking for help to communicate with the shooter on his behalf, but nothing was going to satisfy him.

We have sunk so low in this country, and it's unfortunate that Trump can't be indicted for incitement.

A sorrowful day indeed.

[sinkingfeeling]

55. And little Mikey doesn't say to "tone down the hate".

[dlk]

59. In the idiots with guns category...

When scheduling an imaging appointment at the hospital, yesterday, the scheduler told me I couldn’t bring a gun. (I don’t own one.)

Apparently it’s common for patients to bring guns to their imaging appointments, and they get cranky when they have to take their gun back to their car.

What have we become?