Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Hate Crime Against Asian American Man

A Massachusetts man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for a federal hate crime.

On April 3, John Sullivan pleaded guilty to willfully causing bodily injury to a victim, identified in court papers only by his initials, G.N., through the use of a dangerous weapon (a vehicle), because of G.N.’s actual and perceived race and national origin.

“Racially motivated and hate-fueled attacks have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This defendant targeted this man solely because he was Asian American. This behavior will not be tolerated, and the Justice Department is steadfast in its commitment to vigorously prosecute those who commit unlawful acts of hate.”

“Every single man, woman and child living in Massachusetts has a fundamental right to be free from acts of hate and violence,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “The conduct here is truly despicable, and this office will dedicate whatever resources are needed to vigorously prosecute these types of hate crimes. Fueled by his hate of Asian-Americans, John Sullivan twice used his car to strike and injure an innocent man. He engaged in these acts of hate in front of the victim’s friends, including three children under the age of 12, who all watched in horror. These violent acts of hate spread fear throughout our community and will never be tolerated.”

“A run of the mill trip to the post office turned into a nightmare for this Vietnamese man when John Sullivan decided to target him because of the color of his skin and the country of his ancestors. There is no way to undo the damage Mr. Sullivan caused with his hateful, repulsive and violent behavior, but hopefully today’s sentence provides some measure of comfort,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Field Office. “All communities in our Commonwealth – deserve respect and the ability to live, work, and raise their children without fear. We encourage anyone who has been the victim of or witness to a hate crime to report it to the FBI.”

According to documents filed in connection with this case, Sullivan encountered G.N., who is Vietnamese, and other individuals he was with, who are also Asian American, outside a post office. Sullivan had never met the victim or the group before. In front of the group’s three children under the age of twelve, Sullivan yelled for them to “go back to China,” threatened to kill them — pointing in turn members of the group, including two of the children, and separately telling them, “I’m going to kill you” — and twice drove his car into G.N., causing G.N. to land on the hood of the moving car and remain there while the car moved approximately 200 feet while keeping pace with traffic. Eventually Sullivan stopped the car, causing G.N. to fall into a construction ditch and suffer bodily injury and pain.

The FBI Boston Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey Cummings for the District of Massachusetts and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.