Member of the Aryan Brotherhood Sentenced for Assaulting a Jewish Inmate in Texas

WASHINGTON – Timothy Lee York, 35, of Fountain Valley, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 63 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to violently assaulting a Jewish inmate at a federal correctional facility in Texas, the Justice Department announced today. York was also ordered to pay $5,783 in restitution and a $100 special assessment fee.

According to court documents, York, a self-professed member of the United Aryan Brotherhood, admitted that on Dec. 28, 2007, he attacked his Jewish cellmate while the man was sleeping. York used a dangerous weapon, a ligature that he placed around his cellmate’s neck, to forcibly pull him to the floor where he lost consciousness. Once his cellmate was on the floor, York repeatedly kicked and punched him in the head and body. York acknowledged that he attacked his cellmate because the man was Jewish.

“Attacks based on race or religion have no place in our country,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Today’s sentence reflects the department’s commitment to aggressively prosecuting those who perpetrate violent acts of hate.”

“This sentencing should send a strong message that hate crimes will be investigated vigorously by the FBI, and those found to be responsible will be brought to justice,” said Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Field Office in Dallas.

This case was investigated by the Dallas Division of the FBI, and was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jared Fishman and Ryan Murguía of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.