Maine

A Maine man has been charged for sending a threatening voicemail to his Black neighbor.

According to evidence, the defendant left a voicemail for his neighbor that used racial slurs and threatened to kill any Black person who emerged from their home. The defendant targeted his neighbor because of the neighbor’s race.

The man could face up to five years in prison.

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

Arrest: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maine-man-arrested-racially-motivated-death-threats-against-black-neighbor

A federal grand jury indicted a Maine man for setting fire to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. The church serves a predominantly Black congregation.

The government alleges that the man is also responsible for a string of other crimes leading up to burning the church. Setting fires on the church’s property and a series of tire slashings. A search of the defendant’s vehicle and electronic devices revealed his hatred of Black people. His phone contained a recent message calling to “eliminate all N****s.”

The defendant faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 for using fire to damage religious property, and faces a sentence of at least 10 years in prison for using fire to commit a federal felony.

An indictment is a serious accusation. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maine-man-charged-hate-crime-offenses-arson-predominantly-black-church

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/maine-man-indicted-hate-crime-offenses-relating-burning-black-church-springfield

A Maine man was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty for his role in a series of race-based attacks on Black men.

The first attack occurred without any clear cause outside of a bar in Portland, Maine. The assault, which broke the victim’s jaw, was immediately followed by an attack on another Black man who was standing nearby.

In a second incident, which occurred at a convenience store about an hour later and miles away, the defendant and his uncle approached a Black man who was walking toward the store’s entrance. As the uncle of the defendant distracted the victim by shouting a racial slur, the defendant sucker-punched the victim, knocking him to the ground. The attack broke the victim’s jaw in several places.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maine-man-sentenced-committing-and-conspiring-commit-federal-hate-crime 

Maurice Diggins was convicted of conspiring to—and committing—hate crimes against black men in Maine. The government proved that Diggins conspired with his nephew, Dusty Leo, to brutally assault two men because they were black. Leo had already pleaded guilty.

In the first incident, Diggins attacked a black Sudanese man without provocation. During the same incident, Diggins and Leo assaulted another black man who was standing nearby. Witnesses heard Diggins and Leo using racial epithets during these incidents.

In the second incident, which occurred about an hour later and approximately 20 miles away, Diggins and Leo drove into a parking lot of a convenience store, where Diggins got out of the truck and approached a black man who was walking toward the store’s entrance. Diggins directed a racial slur at the man and distracted him while Leo got out of the truck and sucker-punched the man in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

In both incidents, Diggins and Leo’s unprovoked attacks broke the victims’ jaws requiring extensive surgery.

Diggins and Leo have not been sentenced yet. Diggins faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each hate crimes charge, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. Leo faces the same penalties for the conspiracy charge and the hate crimes charge.

Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/biddeford-maine-man-convicted-hate-crime-assaults