Florida

Two Florida men were sentenced for hate crime charges in connection with their racially-motivated attack against a Black man in Citrus Springs.

According to the plea, on Nov. 17, 2021, the two men traveled to the Family Dollar in Citrus Springs, where the victim, a Black man, was shopping inside. The two men targeted the victim with racial slurs. They followed the victim into the parking lot where they attacked him with an axe handle.

Both men directed racial slurs towards the victim before, during, and after the attack.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-florida-men-sentenced-racially-motivated-hate-crime-following-violent-assault-black-man

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/second-florida-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime-racially-motivated-attack-black-man-using

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-florida-men-charged-federal-hate-crime-violently-attacking-black-man-while-shouting

A Florida man pled guilty to threatening a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

On July 16, 2019, the defendant sent an email to U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar threatening to kill her. The subject line of his email read, “[You’re] dead, you radical Muslim.” He referred to Congresswoman Omar and her colleagues as “radical rats,” and asked her if she was prepared “to die for Islam.” The email further stated that he was going to shoot her in the head.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-man-pleads-guilty-federal-charges-hate-motivated-threats-against-us-member-congress

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

A federal court sentenced a Florida man to 24 months in prison for attacking a Black man who was driving with his family in Seminole, Florida.

According to evidence, the defendant shouted racial slurs at the victim and sideswiped his car while attempting to force the car off the road. The victim’s girlfriend and four-year-old daughter were in the car at the time.

When officers from the Pinellas County Sherriff’s Office arrived on the scene, the defendant made numerous statements evidencing his bias motive, telling the officers that Black people need to be kept “in their areas.”

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-man-sentenced-racially-motivated-hate-crime

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-man-found-guilty-hate-crime-racially-motivated-attack-against-black-man-driving-his

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/florida-man-charged-hate-crimes-following-use-vehicle-racially-motivated-attack-against-black

An Ohio man pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit a hate crime, which, because it involved an attempt to kill, is punishable by up to life in prison.

The man had plotted to shoot sorority students at a university in Ohio, identifying himself as an “incel” or “involuntary celibate.” The incel movement is an online community that seeks to commit violence against women in support of their belief that they have been unjustly denied sexual or romantic attention.

According to the charges, the defendant allegedly wrote a manifesto stating he would “slaughter” women “out of hatred, jealousy, and revenge” and later conducted surveillance at the university. He also maintained profiles on a popular incel website, drafting hundreds of posts. Law enforcement found guns, ammunition, body armor, and other tactical equipment in the defendant’s residence and car.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/highland-county-man-pleads-guilty-attempting-hate-crime

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ohio-man-charged-hate-crime-related-plot-conduct-mass-shooting-women-illegal-possession