Washington

A Washington man pleaded guilty to a hate crime for threatening a federal employee at a Social Security office in Olympia, Washington.

In February of 2023, the defendant became angry with a Black federal employee for telling him that he did not have the proper paperwork for a replacement Social Security card. The defendant repeatedly yelled racial slurs and threatened to kill the employee.

The defendant faces 30 months in prison.

Sentencing: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/olympia-man-sentenced-racially-motivated-threats-against-federal-worker

Guilty Plea: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/olympia-washington-resident-pleads-guilty-threatening-federal-worker-and-agrees-hate

A Washington man has been charged with a hate crime for threatening a federal employee at a Social Security office in Olympia, Washington.

In February of 2023, the defendant became angry with a Black federal employee for telling him that he did not have the proper paperwork for a replacement Social Security card. The defendant was angry, used racial slurs, and threatened to assault or kill the employee.

The defendant faces up to 10 years in person, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

These are serious allegations. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Arraignment: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/south-sound-resident-charged-hate-crime-threatening-federal-worker-due-workers-race

A Washington man was sentenced to four years in prison for his hate-motivated arson of a nightclub and event space where the LGBTQI+ community gathers called Queer/Bar.

According to the plea, the man set fire to a dumpster in the alley behind Queer/Bar on Feb. 24, 2020. After he was arrested, he admitted to police officers that he set the fire and targeted Queer/Bar because it angered him to see a sign that said “queer.” He also told officers, “I think it’s wrong that we have a bunch of queers in our society.” A few weeks after the incident, the defendant told a stranger that his intent in setting the fire was to trap and hurt the people inside.

Sentencing: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/washington-man-sentenced-hate-crime-targeting-lgbtqi-community-seattle-nightclub

Guilty Plea: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/washington-man-pleads-guilty-committing-hate-crime-arson-seattle-nightclub

Four men have pleaded guilty to hate crime and false statement charges in Washington for assaulting a Black man because of his race. The defendants were members of various white supremacist groups.

On Dec. 8, 2018, the four men entered a bar in Lynnwood, Washington. The men repeatedly gave “Nazi salutes” once inside the bar. After the DJ, a Black man, objected to the men touching his DJ equipment, the defendants attacked him while shouting racial slurs. Bystanders, who attempted to intervene, were also assaulted.

The hate crime carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-washington-state-men-sentenced-hate-crime-and-false-statement-charges-after-racially

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/idaho-white-supremacist-who-assaulted-black-man-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-and-false-statement

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oregon-white-supremacist-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-and-false-statement-charges-connection

A Washington man was sentenced in federal court to two years in prison after pleading guilty to making threatening phone calls to businesses in four states.

The man called grocery stores in Buffalo, New York, and threatened to shoot Black people in the stores. He told staff at the stores to “take him seriously,” and ordered the store to clear out the customers, as he was “nearby” and “preparing to shoot all Black customers.” One store closed. The threats followed a racially-motivated shooting at another Buffalo grocery store in May. Law enforcement traced the phone number and identified the person who made the call.

The man had placed similar threatening calls to business in other states. He told law enforcement that he made the threats to strike fear in the Black community.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/lynnwood-washington-man-sentenced-prison-making-multiple-threatening-phone-calls

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/washington-man-pleads-guilty-making-interstate-threats-and-hate-crime

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/lynnwood-washington-man-arrested-allegedly-making-interstate-threats-racially-motivated

A federal grand jury indicted a Washington man for three arsons that damaged or destroyed Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls in Washington State.

The government alleges that the defendant set fire to Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls on three occasions in 2018 because of the religious nature of the properties. The Kingdom Halls were defaced, damaged, and destroyed through arsons.

The defendant was charged before with damage to religious property and use of a firearm in connection with a shooting that damaged a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall in Yelm, Washington.

An indictment is a serious accusation. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/olympia-washington-man-indicted-hate-crimes-arsons-jehovah-s-witness-kingdom-halls

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/washington-man-charged-hate-crime-shooting-and-damaging-jehovah-s-witness-kingdom-hall

A Washington man pleaded guilty to a hate crime for the Feb. 24, 2020, arson at Queer/Bar, a nightclub and event space in Seattle, Washington.

According to the plea, the man set fire to the contents of a dumpster in the alley directly behind Queer/Bar on Feb. 24, 2020. He was arrested only minutes after setting the fire. He admitted to law enforcement that he set the fire and that he targeted Queer/Bar because it angered him to see a sign that said “queer.” He also told officers, “I think it’s wrong that we have a bunch of queers in our society.” A few weeks after the incident, the defendant told a stranger that his intent in setting the fire was to trap and hurt the people inside.

The defendant faces up to 10 years in prison.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/washington-man-pleads-guilty-committing-hate-crime-arson-seattle-nightclub

A federal court sentenced a Washington man to seven years in prison for his role in a plot to threaten journalists and advocates. The man, a leader of the Neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, targeted people who were working against anti-Semitism. Three others pled guilty for their roles in the plot in prior hearings.

According to evidence, the participants in this plot made threatening posters. The posters contained Nazi symbols, threatening language and imagery. The posters were then distributed to members of Atomwaffen Division online. Members of the hate-group then delivered or mailed the posters to targeted journalists and advocates.

In Seattle, the group sent posters to a TV journalist who had reported on Atomwaffen Division. The posters were also sent to members of the Anti-Defamation League, a leading Jewish civil rights organization. The group also targeted journalists in Phoenix and Tampa for reporting on anti-Semitism.

Complaint: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/press-release/file/1252306/download

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/arrests-four-states-racially-motivated-violent-extremists-targeting-journalists-and

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-neo-nazi-group-sentenced-plot-target-journalists-and-advocates

• June 2, 2026 | Washington Man Sentenced for Hate Crime Charge After Stabbing a Black Woman Metro Bus Passenger
• December 23, 2025 | Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime Charge After Stabbing a Metro Bus Passenger
• December 15, 2025 | Everett, Washington Man who Used a Pipe Bomb to Blow Up Black Couple’s Car Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
• December 12, 2024 | Texas Woman Indicted for Arson That Destroyed Washington Church
• October 18, 2024 | Washington Man Sentenced for Hate Crimes and Firearm Offense for Four Attacks on Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls
• June 25, 2024 | Washington Man Sentenced for Racially Motivated Threats Against Federal Worker
• April 2, 2024 | Washington Resident Pleads Guilty to Threatening Federal Worker and Agrees to Hate-Crime Enhancement
• October 16, 2023 | Washington Man Charged with Hate Crime for Threatening Federal Worker due to Worker’s Race
• October 3, 2023 | Washington Man Sentenced for Hate Crime Targeting LGBTQI+ Community at Seattle Nightclub
• February 27, 2023 | U.S. Attorney for Western District of Washington Leads DOJ Delegation to Commemorate “Bloody Sunday” and Passage of Voting Rights Act of 1965
• January 30, 2023 | Four Washington State Men Sentenced for Hate Crime and False Statement Charges After Racially-Motivated Assault
• December 14, 2022 | Washington Man Indicted for Hate Crimes for Arsons at Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Halls
• November 7, 2022 | Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Making Interstate Threats and Hate Crime
• October 20, 2022 | Washington Man Charged with Hate Crime for Shooting and Damaging Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall
• August 3, 2022 | Washington Man Indicted for Hate Crime and Interstate Threats of Racially Motivated Violence
• July 22, 2022 | Washington Man Arrested for Allegedly Making Interstate Threats of Racially Motivated Violence
• June 23, 2022 | United Against Hate Pilot Program in Eastern Washington Paves the Way for National Roll Out
• May 26, 2022 | Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Committing Hate Crime for Arson at Seattle Nightclub
• April 8, 2022 | Washington Man Charged in Racially Motivated Hate Crime Enters Guilty Plea
• March 10, 2022 | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Announces Anti-Hate Crime Initiatives
• March 8, 2022 | Washington’s Two U.S. Attorneys Join Federal Law Enforcement Partners to Brief Religious Leaders on Security for Houses of Worship
• January 11, 2022 | Leader of Neo-Nazi Group Sentenced for Plot to Target Journalists and Advocates
• September 29, 2021 | Leader of ‘Atomwaffen’ hate group convicted of five federal felonies for conspiracy to threaten journalists and Anti-Defamation League employees
• August 24, 2021 | Leader of ‘Atomwaffen’ Conspiracy Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Threatening Journalists and Advocates
• April 7, 2021 | Leader of Neo-Nazi Group Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime and Conspiracy Charges for Threatening Journalists and Advocates
• March 12, 2021 | Statement of Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman on Anti-Asian Hate Crimes and Bias Acts
• December 18, 2020 | Four Indicted for Hate Crimes and False Statements After Racially Motivated Assault in Lynnwood, Washington
• December 9, 2020 | Member of Neo-Nazi Group Sentenced for Plot to Target Journalists and Advocates
• March 17, 2020 | Southwest Washington man charged with making anti-Semitic threats against neighbor
• February 26, 2020 | Arrests in four states of racially motivated violent extremists targeting journalists and activists
• December 7, 2018 | Seattle Man Sentenced to Over Two Years in Prison for Cyberstalking Campaign
• September 10, 2018 | Seattle Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking Campaign