Washington

A Washington man has been charged with a hate crime for threatening a federal employee at a Social Security office in Olympia, Washington.

In February of 2023, the defendant became angry with a Black federal employee for telling him that he did not have the proper paperwork for a replacement Social Security card. The defendant was angry, used racial slurs, and threatened to assault or kill the employee.

The defendant faces up to 10 years in person, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

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

Arraignment: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/south-sound-resident-charged-hate-crime-threatening-federal-worker-due-workers-race

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

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