Utah Man Convicted On Hate Crime Charges After Attacking Three Men With A Metal Pole

SALT LAKE CITY– After a five-day trial, a federal jury in Salt Lake City, Utah, found defendant Alan Covington guilty on three hate crime charges stemming an incident in which the defendant attacked three men with a metal pole because he believed the men were Mexican.

The verdicts were announced this afternoon by Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; John W. Huber, United States Attorney for the District of Utah; and Paul H. Haertel, Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake City Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“In America, we have the right to wake each day and pursue work and family activities without the fear of a violent assault because of our ethnicity or perceived national origin.  When an offender violates this basic civil right, we will hold him accountable,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.  “Today, a jury of his peers held Mr. Covington responsible for violating the civil rights of the victims in this case, who were physically injured and traumatized.”

"Hate has no place in our society, and as the victims in this case testified, the brutal assault against them has completely altered their lives forever," said Paul H. Haertel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City Field Office.  "Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI's Civil Rights program.  They devastate not only the victims but an entire community, and we will aggressively investigate those whose biases motivate their crimes."

Evidence presented at trial established that on November 27, 2018, Covington entered a tire store, shouted at employees that he wanted to “kill Mexicans,” and then struck an employee in the head with a metal pole.  The father of the victim rushed to help his son, who had been knocked to the ground with a serious head injury.  While the father cradled his son’s head, Covington used the metal pole to strike the father in the back.  When a third man tried to intervene to chase off the defendant, Covington swung the metal pole in an attempt to injure him. Covington was apprehended by police near the tire store, with a metal pole and a hatchet in his possession.

A sentencing date has not been set by U.S. District Judge Howard C. Nielson, Jr.  Covington faces a maximum sentence of life in prison after the jury found that an enhancement for “attempt to kill,” associated with count one of the indictment, applied in the case.

The case was investigated by the Salt Lake City Field Office of the FBI, with the cooperation of the Salt Lake City Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Drew Yeates of the United States Attorney’s Office and Special Litigation Counsel Rose E. Gibson of the Civil Rights Division.