Washington

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

The second of four prospective members of a white supremacist group admitted to beating a Black man, and lying to investigators about using racial slurs.

According to the plea agreement, the defendants were prospective members of a white supremacist group. The men traveled to the Seattle area to celebrate a known white supremacist who died in the 1980s. On December 8, 2018, the men went to a bar in Lynnwood, Washington, assaulting a Black man who was working there as a DJ. The group assaulted two other men who came to the DJ’s aid. The attackers shouted racial slurs and made Nazi salutes during the assault.

In admitting his guilt, the defendant also admitted that he lied to the FBI when he claimed that the defendants did not use racial slurs during the assault.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, both sides recommend a 37-month prison term for the defendant.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/second-four-men-charged-racially-motivated-hate-crime-enters-guilty-plea

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/four-indicted-hate-crimes-and-false-statements-after-racially-motivated-assaul

Indictment:https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/press-release/file/1347166/download

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

Four men from across the Pacific Northwest were indicted this week for federal hate crimes and making false statements in connection with a racially-motivated assault.

The charges allege that the Defendants attacked a Black man while using racial slurs at a bar in Lynnwood, Washington. In addition to the hate crime charges, the indictment charges each defendant, separately, with giving false statements to the FBI during the investigation by lying about the use of racial slurs.

The hate crime charges carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. The false statements charges carry a maximum penalty of five years.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until each is proven guilty.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/four-indicted-hate-crimes-and-false-statements-after-racially-motivated-assault

Indictment: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/press-release/file/1347166/download