Utah Man Charged with Federal Hate Crime for Threatening Interracial Family

WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice announced today that an information was filed charging Robert Keller, 70, with interfering with the housing rights of three members of an interracial family because of the family members’ races and because the family members were living in Hurricane, Utah.
Keller has been charged with two counts of criminal interference with a right to fair housing. More specifically, the information alleges that Keller wrote a note to two Caucasian family members of an interracial family threatening to kill them if they did not make their African-American family member leave their home and the community. The first count alleges that Keller’s threats interfered with the housing rights of the Caucasian residents to associate in their home with their African-American family member, and the second count alleges that Keller’s threats interfered with the African-American resident’s right to occupy the home.
If convicted, Keller faces a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison on each count.
This case is being investigated by the Salt Lake City Division of the FBI in cooperation with the Hurricane City Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlos Esqueda for the District of Utah.
An information is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

California Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Racially Motivated Assault on White Man and African-American Woman

WASHINGTON—Billy James Hammett, 30, of Marysville, California, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to serve 87 months in prison for violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in a 2011 racially motivated attack against a white man and an African-American woman in Marysville. The court also ordered Hammett to pay restitution in the amount of $175 and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Hammett pleaded guilty on December 17, 2013, and his co-defendants, Perry Sylvester Jackson, 28, and Anthony Merrell Tyler, 33, have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
According to documents filed with the court, around 10:45 p.m. on April 18, 2011, a white man and an African-American woman parked their car at a convenience store in Marysville. Shortly afterward, the three defendants, each of whom has white supremacist tattoos, attacked the man and woman based on race. After calling the male victim a “[racial slur]-lover,” Jackson punched him twice in the head through the open passenger window. At the same time, Hammett kicked the woman in the chest. A few seconds later, Tyler smashed the car’s windshield with a crowbar. As the attack continued, the woman managed to take refuge inside the convenience store. All three assailants then descended upon the male victim and began attacking him in the parking lot. He sustained abrasions on his right forearm and knees, while the woman suffered bruising to her chest. At the end of the incident, Tyler used a racial slur to refer to an African-American witness.
In sentencing the defendant, Judge Mendez said he found surveillance video footage of the assault “disturbing.” He noted that Hammett’s attack on the victims was “unprovoked and unwarranted,” and that the victims continue to suffer.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Mendez also specifically considered Hammett’s background and criminal history, which includes a conviction in 2006 for assaulting a 72-year-old black man, also in Marysville. According to court records, Hammett made racial comments immediately before the unprovoked attack. In addition, Hammett has been affiliated with a number of white supremacist gangs, including Supreme White Power. He has tattoos of the words “white power” across his abdomen, a large swastika on the right side of his torso and the word “skinhead” written across the top of his back. Judge Mendez stated during the sentencing hearing that Hammett poses “a serious threat to the public.”
“The defendant and his associates accosted the victims in public and assaulted them because of their race,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The department is committed to stamping out racial violence and will continue to prosecute hate crimes vigorously.”
“Racially motivated violence has no place in civilized society,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner for the Eastern District of California. “This office has a history of prosecuting those who perpetrate crimes of hate, and as long as these crimes continue, we will be there to enforce the law and uphold this nation’s constitutional values.”
Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2014, and Tyler is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8, 2014. Each defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
This case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Wagner and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the Civil Rights Division.

New York man charged with hate crimes for seven 'knockout' assaults

A 35-year-old New York man has been charged with hate crimes in connection with seven "knockout" assaults, including attacks on two elderly woman and a mother walking with her daughter, police said Saturday.
Barry Baldwin, a Brooklyn resident, was charged with six counts of assault as a hate crime, six counts of aggravated harassment as a hate crime, and other crimes for a spate of attacks between November 9 and December 27 in predominantly Jewish sections of Brooklyn, police said.
On November 9, Baldwin allegedly punched a 78-year-old woman who was pushing a stroller -- apparently as part of the "knockout" assault game, where people try to knock a random stranger unconscious with a single blow. The victim was knocked to the ground.
On December 7, he allegedly struck again, punching a 20-year-old woman in the back of the head in Brooklyn.

Between December 21 and December 27, Baldwin allegedly assaulted five more woman, including a 33-year-old woman who was walking with her young daughter and another 78-year-old woman.
After the attack on the woman walking with her 7-year-old daughter in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, police released a sketch of the suspect. The mother was punched in the back of the head and knocked down, police said. She sustained minor injuries to her knees and hands. The suspect fled on foot.

Baldwin was arrested December 29 by hate crimes detectives canvassing the neighborhoods where the previous attacks occurred, police said. He was charged after witnesses identified him in a police lineup.
At least nine suspected "knockout" attacks have been reported since October in New York, but police have said they see no evidence of a trend.
Authorities have reported similar incidents in New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri and Washington.

3 San Jose State students charged with hate crime against black roommate

Three San Jose State University students in California have been charged with racially bullying their black roommate by clamping a bicycle lock around his neck and decorating their four-bedroom suite with a Confederate flag, Nazi symbols, photos of Adolf Hitler and a white board with a racial epithet, prosecutors said Thursday.

The three students -- Logan Beaschler, 18, of Bakersfield; Joseph Bomgardner, 19, of Clovis; and Colin Warren, 18, of Woodacre -- are charged with misdemeanor hate crime and battery, the Santa Clara district attorney's office said.

Neither the three students nor their attorneys could be immediately reached for comment.

Beaschler was booked in the Santa Clara County Jail on Thursday, with bail set at $15,000.

The defendants face a maximum sentence of one year in county jail if convicted, prosecutors said.

The 17-year-old roommate who was the alleged victim wasn't named by prosecutors. He suffered a minor injury when he fought off the bike lock around his neck, prosecutors said.

"I can't believe in the year 2013 that we're talking about an African-American student being treated this way," District Attorney Jeffrey F. Rosen told CNN. "We're taking this case very seriously."

The defendants are accused of nicknaming their black roommate "Three-Fifths," an apparent reference to a U.S. constitutional provision that counted slaves as "three-fifths of all other persons," prosecutors said.

When the African-American student objected to that name, the three roommates in the campus housing began calling him "Fraction," the prosecutor's office said.

The alleged harassment began in August and lasted through October, prosecutors said.

Are we too quick to cry 'bully'?

San Jose State's president, Mohammad Qayoumi, said in a letter to the student body Thursday that the three students have been suspended.

"Let me be clear: I am outraged and saddened by these allegations. They are utterly inconsistent with our long cherished history of tolerance, respect for diversity and personal civility," Qayoumi's letter said.

Members of the alleged victim's family released a statement saying they were "deeply disturbed by the horrific behaviors that have taken place against our son."

"Our immediate focus is his protection," the family said. "We have taken a stand on this matter. Our response prompted the community to be alerted of the appalling conduct of the students involved."

A total of eight men were living in the four-bedroom suite, but the remaining four students turned their back on the racial harassment, the prosecutor said.

"The other four were aware of this (but) ... did not stand up" and allowed the harassment, Rosen said.

Parents saw the Confederate flag in the dorm suite and "the N-word scrawled on a white board," Rosen said.

When friends become bullies

At least one of the defendants tried to downplay the harassment, and the three defendants then wrote a note to the African-American roommate, asking him to join their group, Rosen said.

But the black roommate objected to the harassment and sometimes "barricaded" himself in his room, Rosen said.

"The young man in this case was terrorized. It was difficult for him to study," Rosen said. "He told them not to do this to him."

Qayoumi said the university police immediately began investigating the allegations "the day our housing staff learned of the situation."

The same day the investigation began, two of the roommates were moved to other residence halls and placed in single rooms.

"A third suite-mate, originally believed to be a bystander, was identified yesterday as an offender. We regret he was not removed from the victim's suite before today," Qayoumi said.

Christmas attacks show security challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan

Two car bombs targeting Christians killed at least 38 people in southern Baghdad on Christmas.

In Afghanistan, two rounds of "indirect fire" hit the U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul, but no one was hurt. The incidents highlight the security challenges with which both Iraq and Afghanistan are grappling. Both countries have had a heavy U.S. military presence until recently.

The departure of U.S. forces from Iraq has done little to curb the near-daily cycle of violence. In Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan officials are working on an important security pact to outline the future of American troops in Afghanistan. In Iraq, a car bomb exploded outside a church in southern Baghdad just as worshipers were leaving a Christmas Day service, killing many. In another attack Wednesday, a car bomb went off at an outdoor market where many Christians shop, police said.

Altogether, at least 38 people were killed and some 70 others were wounded, the Interior Ministry said. The bomb outside the church killed 27 and wounded 56. The market attack left 11 dead and 14 wounded. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad condemned the attacks -- in the Dora area of Baghdad -- targeting "Christians celebrating Christmas."

 

"The Christian community in Iraq has suffered deliberate and senseless targeting by terrorists for many years, as have many other innocent Iraqis. The United States abhors all such attacks and is committed to its partnership with the Government of Iraq to combat the scourge of terrorism," according to a statement released by the embassy.

Iraq has experienced an uptick in sectarian violence this year as tensions simmer between the disaffected minority Sunni community and the Shiites, who dominate the government.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom notes that many people in small religious minority communities in Iraq, including Christians, have fled the country over the last decade and those that remain are "particularly vulnerable," facing "discrimination, marginalization, and neglect."

Sectarian warfare, especially between Sunnis and Shiites, raged during the Iraq War. Half or more of the pre-2003 Iraqi Christian community is thought to have left Iraq, the commission said in its 2013 annual report.

In 2003, there were thought to be 800,000 to 1.4 million Chaldean Catholics, Assyrian Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East members, Syriac Catholics and Orthodox, Armenian Catholics and Orthodox, Protestants and evangelicals in the country, the group said.

Now, according to community leaders, the estimated number of Christians stands at around 500,000, the report said. Two rounds of "indirect fire" hit the U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul, the embassy said. No one was injured. "At approximately 6:40 local time in Kabul, approximately two rounds of indirect fire impacted the U.S. Embassy compound. All Americans are accounted for and no injuries were sustained," the embassy said in a statement Wednesday. "The Embassy continues to investigate the attack." The embassy did not elaborate on what kind of rounds were fired, or where in the compound they landed. A claim of responsibility was posted on the Taliban's official website. The group said it fired missiles at the U.S. Embassy and the main base of NATO, which leads the military coalition known as the International Security Assistance Force.

The incident comes at a pivotal time in U.S.-Afghan relations. The two countries are working on an important security pact. The deal will lay out the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan after 2014 when the NATO-led force of some 80,000 troops is scheduled to leave.

This month, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was in Afghanistan and said the security pact will be agreed upon despite a failure so far to forge a deal.

'Knockout Game' Attack on 79-Year-Old Leads to Hate Crime Charge

A white Houston-area man was arrested Thursday on federal hate crimes charges for allegedly shooting video of himself sucker-punching a 79-year-old black man in a "knockout game"-style attack.

Conrad Alvin Barrett, 27, made a brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy, who scheduled a detention hearing for the Katy man on Friday.

According to prosecutors, the attack happened Nov. 24 in Katy, but it wasn't until 12 days later that authorities connected the attack to the cellphone video of it.

Authorities learned of the case because Barrett allegedly showed the video on the night of the attack to an off-duty arson investigator he had just met at a restaurant in nearby Folshear. According to the criminal complaint, Barrett asked the off-duty investigator and the woman with the investigator if they knew about the knockout game. He told them he played earlier that day, then showed them the video, prosecutors allege.

The investigator then flagged down a uniformed officer across the street and led him to Barrett.

The attack video doesn't show Barrett's face, but investigators matched his voice to the voice in the video and the couple at the restaurant told investigators that Barrett was wearing the same shorts and shoes at the person who shot the video.

According to prosecutors, the video shows Barrett approach the victim and ask, "How's it going, man?" A "loud smack" is then heard, the victim falls to the ground, Barrett laughs and says, "Knockout." The assailant then flees in his vehicle.

The victim lost three teeth and needed surgery to repair his jaw, which had been broken in two places. He was hospitalized for more than four days, authorities said.

Investigators retrieved other videos from Barrett's phone, including some in which he uses racial epithets and talks about trying to work up the courage to play the knockout game, the complaint states. In one, Barrett says: "That plan is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?"

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said Thursday that such crimes won't be tolerated.

"Evidence of hate crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted with the assistance of all our partners to the fullest extent of the law," Magidson said.

Barrett's attorney, George Parnham, said Barrett has bipolar disorder and has been prescribed heavy medications to treat it. He said Barrett's family "feels horribly sympathetic" for the person who was attacked.

"When you start peeling back the layers of the onion and look at the mindset behind the action you soon realize there's a mental issue," said Parnham, who added that he's trying to gather as much information about Barrett's mental health as possible.

If convicted of the hate crime charge, Barrett could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.

Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime Charge for Cross Burning

WASHINGTON—Timothy Stafford, 41, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, to his role in the April 30, 2012, cross burning in front of an interracial family’s home in Minor Hill, Tennessee, the Department of Justice announced.
Stafford pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to threaten, intimidate, and interfere with an interracial couple’s enjoyment of their housing rights. Stafford admitted in court that on the night of April 30, 2012, he and two other individuals devised a plan to burn a cross in the yard of an interracial couple in Minor Hill, Tennessee. Stafford constructed a wooden cross in a workshop behind his house. Stafford and his co-conspirators then purchased diesel fuel and covered the cross in diesel fuel-soaked cloth. Stafford then drove his conspirators and the cross to the victims’ residence. Upon arriving at the residence, the other conspirators placed the cross in the driveway and ignited it. Stafford and the conspirators chose to burn the cross at the victims’ house because of their race, as well as the race of their child. Stafford admitted to targeting the interracial couple because he did not want interracial dating in his community.
Ivan “Rusty” London IV, 21, of Lexington, Kentucky, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy and is currently awaiting sentencing.
“Hate motivated crimes will not be tolerated in our country,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute individuals that violate the rights of others because of race.”
“The right to live in a community of your choosing, free of acts of intimidation that are meant to inspire fear, is a fundamental right in the United States,” said David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. “The Department of Justice takes these transgressions very seriously and to the extent that individuals interfere with fundamental civil rights, they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Timothy Stafford faces a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. Ivan London faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison.

Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to His Role in Racially Motivated Cross Burning

WASHINGTON—Thomas Windell Smith, 24, of Dothan, Alabama, turned himself in and pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday, December 6, 2013, to one count of conspiring to violate housing rights, the Justice Department announced today. The information charging Smith was unsealed today. The charge relates to his participation in a cross burning at the entrance to an African-American community in Ozark, Alabama, on May 8, 2009, with a former KKK leader who was arrested and charged with a five-count indictment on Wednesday, November 27, 2013.
During his plea, Smith admitted that he and a co-conspirator agreed to burn a cross together in order to intimidate the neighborhood’s African-American residents. Using materials from around his home, the co-conspirator constructed a wooden cross about six feet tall and wrapped cloth around the cross. The co-conspirator loaded the cross into Smith’s truck, and, with Smith driving while the co-conspirator provided directions, the two men transported the cross to a predominantly African-American residential neighborhood. They unloaded the cross at the entrance to the community, where the co-conspirator poured fuel on the cross, stood it up in view of several houses, and set it on fire.
“The defendant’s crime illustrates the damage hate crimes can do to entire communities, making people feel unsafe in their own homes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “We’d like to think these offenses are a thing of the past, but the reality is that they happen here in the 21st century. The Justice Department is committed to stamping them out.”
“This defendant not only committed a federal crime but committed a contemptible action of hate,” said U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. “Citizens in the Middle District of Alabama should not and will not tolerate such actions. I hope this prosecution sends a clear message that these hateful demonstrations will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Smith faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Dale County Sheriff’s Office and the Ozark Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerusha T. Adams of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the department’s Civil Rights Division.

Two Compton Men Plead Guilty to Federal Hate Crime Charges Resulting from New Year’s Eve Attack on African-American Youths

LOS ANGELES—Two Latino men associated with a Compton street gang pleaded guilty this morning to federal hate crime charges stemming from a racially motivated attack on African-American juveniles on New Year’s Eve.
Jeffrey Aguilar, who is also known as “Terco,” 20, and Efren Marquez, Jr., who is also known as “Stretch” and “Junior,” 22, each pleaded guilty to violating the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act.
Appearing before United States District Judge Terry J. Hatter, Jr., Aguilar admitted that on December 31, 2012, he and another individual physically attacked a 17-year-old African-American who was walking down a street in the city of Compton. Aguilar chased down and struck the victim in the head with a metal pipe. During the incident, Marquez threatened to shoot another African-American juvenile who was present. Both Aguilar and Marquez admitted that the attack on the 17-year-old victim was substantially motivated by his race and color.
“The perpetrators of hate crimes hurt not only the individuals who are attacked but also society as a whole,” said United States Attorney André Birotte, Jr. “For this reason, we are dedicated to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that justice is brought to those who chose to commit such heinous crimes.”
Roy L. Austin, Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, commented, “These juvenile victims were threatened and assaulted because of their race. Such intimidation and violence has no place in our society. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who commit such acts of hate.”
Aguilar and Marquez are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Hatter on January 6. At sentencing each defendant will face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
“Finding justice for victims of civil rights violations is among the most important responsibilities of FBI agents,” said Bill Lewis, Assistant Director for the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The success of this case is due to the shared goals and long-term cooperation between the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the FBI and prosecutors at the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.”
Sheriff Lee Baca commented, “Hate crimes affect not only the victims, they also destroy our society’s democratic principles. Law enforcement is dedicated to protecting the civil rights of all members of our community. The success of this joint investigation sends a message that racially motivated crimes will not be tolerated.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy (213-894-0552) and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.