District of Columbia

A District man has been found guilty on charges stemming from a hate crime in which he spit in the face of a female neighbor in Southwest Washington.

According to evidence, on July 20, 2020, at approximately 2 p.m., the victim, a Black woman, was walking her service dog and crossing the exit ramp of her apartment complex. The defendant drove his SUV up the exit ramp at a high rate of speed, almost hitting the victim and her dog. After the victim told him to be careful, he began screaming racist and sexist epithets.

The man spit into the victim’s face, and drove away. He was arrested 23 days later after being identified. The man had a history of racist tirades against his Black neighbors.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/district-man-found-guilty-bias-related-assault-african-american-woman

A District man pleaded guilty today, mid-trial, to charges stemming from two assaults.

According to the plea, the defendant assaulted the first victim on May 15, 2022, at the Dupont Circle Metro Station. During this assault, he targeted the victim, hit the victim with a metal object, and then made derogatory statements about the victim’s ethnicity.

The second assault took place on May 22, 2022, when the defendant targeted another victim inside of a Metro Station, kicked the victim in the back while descending the escalator, followed the victim throughout the station, and assaulted the victim again, all the while making derogatory comments directed at the victim’s race and ethnicity.

When he was arrested, the defendant made a number of racist and xenophobic statements.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/district-man-pleads-guilty-mid-trial-hate-crimes-charges

A federal grand jury indicted a District man for assaulting four men because of their perceived sexual orientation.

The indictment alleges that on five separate evenings from 2018 to 2021, the man went to a meeting place for men seeking consensual sex with other men, and assaulted men with a chemical irritant. Before spraying the men, he pretended to be a Park Police officer, shined a flashlight in the victims’ faces and gave the victims police-style directives.

The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for each assault.

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

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maryland-man-indicted-bias-motivated-assaults-men-washington-dc-park

A District man pled guilty to a bias-related assault and attempted possession of a prohibited weapon.

According to the evidence, the defendant entered a Chipotle restaurant and asked an employee how much food he could buy with about $8. The employee tried to assist, but due to a language barrier, she asked her manager to help the man. Not satisfied, the man began yelling a series of xenophobic, ethnic, and transphobic slurs at the employees.

He climbed onto the service counter and spit on the employee. He began throwing food and serving spoons at the employee, striking her in the hand. The defendant continued yelling slurs throughout the incident. Finally, as he moved towards the exit, he shouted that he was going to return and kill the employees.

The court sentenced the defendant to 450 days in prison. He will serve less time if he completes a year of probation and participates in mental health treatment.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/district-man-pleads-guilty-bias-related-assault-confrontation-employees-fast-food

A District of Columbia woman pled guilty this week to charges stemming from two assaults that took place in April and May of 2021, including one that was prosecuted as a hate crime.

The defendant pled guilty on August 9, 2021, to one count of bias-related assault and one count of simple assault. She was sentenced to a total of 180 days in jail, only serving half if she completes a year of probation.

The bias-related assault took place on April 6, 2021, when the defendant assaulted a U.S. Postal Service worker who was making deliveries. She shoved the worker, a Black female, while using racial slurs. As the worker tried to flee, the defendant pursued her and continued her assault by repeatedly shoving her and using racial slurs.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/district-woman-pleads-guilty-two-assaults-including-one-prosecuted-hate-crime

A D.C. woman was sentenced to prison for threatening to kill someone because they were a member of the Asian community.

In April, the defendant approached the victim outside a neighborhood store while armed with a knife. She then threatened to kill the victim, saying, “I will kill you; you have coronavirus; go back to China.”

The judge sentenced the defendant to the maximum penalty of 270 days, but suspended all but 90 days of incarceration. After her term in prison, she will be placed on probation for 18 months.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/district-woman-sentenced-prison-hate-crime-targeting-member-asian-community

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• December 12, 2024 | Jury Convicts Man for Anti-LGBTQ Assault Against Two Men and Threats to a Female Club Employee in DC
• September 19, 2024 | Federal Hate Crime Charges Brought for Assault on Stranger Wearing a Yarmulke in Washington, DC 
• August 8, 2024 | Assault of Congregants Outside a Washington D.C. Synagogue Charged as a Federal Hate Crime
• February 2, 2023 | District Man Found Guilty of Bias-Related Assault on African-American Woman
• December 16, 2022 | District Man Pleads Guilty Mid-Trial to Hate Crimes Charges
• September 23, 2022 | Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke Delivers Remarks at George Washington University’s Equity Institute Initiative
• September 21, 2022 | Grand Jury Returns 17-Count Indictment Charging Man with Murder, Multiple Counts of Assault, and Hate Crimes
• July 14, 2022 | Maryland Man Indicted for Bias-Motivated Assaults of Men in Washington, D.C. Park
• May 26, 2022 | District Man Pleads Guilty to Bias-Related Attack of Asian Family in Northwest Washington
• April 29, 2022 | Virginia Man Found Guilty of Charges in Bias-Related Attack on Construction Workers
• February 14, 2022 | District Man Pleads Guilty to Bias-Related Assault in Confrontation with Employees at Fast-Food Restaurant
• November 12, 2021 | The FBI Washington Field Office Encourages the Public to Report Hate Crimes
• August 12, 2021 | District Woman Pleads Guilty to Two Assaults, Including One Prosecuted as Hate Crime
• June 9, 2021 | District Woman Sentenced to Prison for Hate Crime Targeting Member of the Asian Community
• March 18, 2021 | Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia’s Statement on Hate- and Bias-Related Crimes Against Persons of Asian Descent
• January 4, 2021 | California Woman Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime for Threatening to Bomb Catholic Prep School
• October 23, 2019 | Statement by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu on D.C. Council Hearing Regarding Hate Crimes in the District of Columbia
• February 28, 2018 | U.S./Israeli Man Indicted for Hate Crime and Threats to Jewish Community Centers, Israeli Embassy, Anti-Defamation League, Conveying False Information and Cyberstalking