Category: USDJ Hate Crimes

Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Nicholas Welker, also known as “King ov Wrath,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen to 44 months’ imprisonment for conspiring to make death threats.  Welker, the leader of Feuerkrieg Division (“FKD”), an international racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist (“RMVE”) group, which translates to “War Fire,” posted death threats against a Brooklyn-based journalist (the “Journalist”) so that the Journalist would stop reporting on the Neo-Nazi group.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentence. 

“Welker tried to silence a journalist from reporting on his white supremacist group so that his fellow extremists could continue to commit violence against racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “There were real victims of this crime—the journalist and his news media organization.  Today’s sentence demonstrates that we will stand up for them and other journalists who bravely report on these violent hate groups.” 

Mr. Peace expressed his thanks to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies.  Mr. Peace also thanked the Estonian Internal Security Service and Prosecutor’s Office for their valuable support.

According to court filings, Welker’s threat included a photograph of the Journalist with a gun aimed at his head and the words “Race Traitor” over the Journalist’s eyes.  The threat stated, “JOURNALIST F[***] OFF!  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.”  The threat listed the Journalist and his employer by name.  Welker posted the threat to a public online forum.  Two under-aged FKD members tweeted the death threat directly at the Journalist’s social media handle so that he would see it.  Welker intended to frighten the Journalist into dropping his reporting on Welker’s hate group.

FKD members share a common goal of challenging laws, social order, and the government via terrorism and other violent acts.  The organization encourages attacks on racial minorities, the Jewish community, the LGBTQ+ community, the U.S. Government, journalists, and critical infrastructure.  FKD has members in the United States and abroad.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Ellen H. Sise and Andrew D. Reich are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The Defendant:

NiCHOLAS WELKER (also known as “King ov Wrath”)
Age: 33
San Jose, California

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-141 (PKC)

Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

PORTLAND, Maine: A Buxton man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for transmitting a threatening interstate communication.

U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Brian Dennison, 27, to 12 months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Dennison was found guilty by a federal jury on December 7, 2023, following a three-day trial.

According to evidence presented during the trial, on September 8, 2021, Dennis posted on Twitter, “I’m going to kill jews with my ar15 tomorrow.” FBI investigators identified Dennison as the likely author of the threat and executed search warrants at his Buxton residence. Among the items seized were approximately 1,700 rounds of ammunition that could be fired from an AR-15-style rifle. Investigators also found evidence that Dennison had a long-standing animus toward Jewish people. In October 2021, investigators executed another search warrant at the property and found an AR-15-style rifle and ammunition in a case that had been hidden in the woods behind the residence.

In imposing sentence, Judge Levy noted that threats like the one Dennison communicated are corrosive and strain the fiber of our country. He also noted that the core liberties enshrined in the Constitution are undermined by threats based on someone’s faith.

“Brian Dennison communicated his violent anti-Semitic threat on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year celebration,” said Darcie McElwee, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine. “Such repugnant threats have no place in any society. I commend the FBI for its excellent investigative work in this case. Under the First Amendment, you have a right to believe hateful things, and to express those hateful beliefs in lawful ways. But when your speech constitutes a true threat to kill or injure others, you will be held accountable.”

“Our Maine Joint Terrorism Task Force is to be highly commended for its rapid response to Brian Dennison’s threat to commit mass murder with an assault rifle, born out of his long-standing hatred for Jewish people,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Hate has no place here in Maine, and the fact that Mr. Dennison had the actual means to carry out his articulated threat is chilling. Protecting human life is our absolute priority, and the FBI stands ready to intervene whenever threatening language crosses the line into illegal activity.”

The FBI and U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

This page aims to raise awareness and provide resources addressing the rise of antisemitic, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim hate in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.  Learn more about DOJ’s efforts to address and prevent hate crimes by viewing the DOJ Statements, Featured Videos, DOJ Resources, and DOJ News Releases on our website.  

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Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

Present: Hate Crimes and Tops Supermarket

Across four decades, FBI special agents and law enforcement officers here in Birmingham took this case personally and saw it through to completion. Their dedicated work—and the dedicated work of hundreds of other agents on countless other cases—is part of the Bureau’s DNA.

Today, the FBI is the only federal agency charged with investigating civil rights violations, which include hate crimes and color-of-law violations. 

Civil rights violations have been increasing for some time, which is why, in 2021, the FBI elevated civil rights to a national threat priority. In plain English, that means the program receives more resources and that civil rights violations jump a lot of other investigations in priority at every field office. And, this year, we increased the number of people specifically committed to investigating civil rights crimes to 176 special agents, plus 57 analysts.

Nationally, we’ve seen a steady rise in the volume of hate crimes. In 2022, across all levels of law enforcement in the United States, more than 13,000 hate crime incidents were reported. About half of those were crimes motivated solely by race, ethnicity, or ancestry biases. We’re still collecting nationwide data for 2023, but just looking at our work at the FBI, our investigations led to more hate crimes charges last year than any year since the turn of the century.

Almost certainly, the most high-visibility ongoing case is the mass-casualty shooting at the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May of 2022. The shooter posted online about his fears of what he called “white genocide.” He targeted a nearby community with the highest percentage of Black residents and then meticulously plotted, scouted, and prepared for a series of shootings.

He was ahead of his planned schedule when he stepped out of his car wearing body armor and livestreaming from a helmet cam. Yelling racial slurs, he shot four people in the parking lot before he entered the store and began targeting anyone who was Black. 

In just a couple minutes, he’d shot 13 people, and the 10 he killed were all Black.

As horrific as that was, it could’ve been far worse if Buffalo Police Department officers had not arrived within two minutes of the start of the shooting. They stopped him from reaching his car—where he had more weapons and ammunition—and from moving to a second location.

Now, I can’t talk much about the ongoing federal case, but those are all details from the shooter’s guilty plea to state charges of murder, terrorism, and hate crimes. In February, a New York court sentenced him to 10 consecutive life sentences, plus 75 years, without the possibility of parole. 

And our case has also led to 27 federal charges: 13 hate crimes charges relating to the people he shot, one more for attempting to kill other African American people nearby, and 13 firearms charges relating to his hate crimes, with that trial scheduled to begin late next year.

I know that case has everyone’s interest across the country, but I don’t want to leave you with the impression that something needs to be a capital case—or even to include violence—for the FBI to get involved.

One recent case we investigated was up in Billings, Montana. In November 2020, a man walked into a church, hungry and needing help. The elderly woman working there gave him a gift card and wished him well. He should have just been grateful, but he didn’t like that the woman who helped him was Black. 

So five days later, he called the church and left a voicemail, claiming to be a church donor and saying he would donate a lot more money if the church would just stop employing African Americans—although the term he used was not “African Americans.”

After he made three more calls, the church contacted the local police. A detective spoke to the man, who promised not to call the church again. Three days later, he left another voicemail, apologizing. 

But, it turned out, he wasn’t done. Over the next year and a half—even after leaving the state—he continued calling the church, using racial slurs and making threats, so the FBI got involved and tracked him down. October of 2022, he was indicted on federal charges, arrested in Indiana, and held in federal custody. Last June, he pled guilty to harassment, and, in October, he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

Now, that case didn’t make national headlines, but those threats made a huge impact on that church and led a woman—who’d just tried to help someone—to fear for her safety. And we were not going to rest until she felt safe again.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

Tacoma – A 42-year-old Thurston County resident pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to making a threat against a Black federal employee at the Social Security office in Olympia, Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Steven L. Veres was initially charged in July 2023, and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle on June 25, 2024.

According to records filed in the case, on February 16, 2023, Veres and a companion went to the Olympia Social Security Office seeking a replacement Social Security card. When a Black Social Security employee told Veres that Veres lacked the proper paperwork to obtain a new Social Security card, Veres became irate, threatening to assault and, per some witnesses, kill the worker. Veres also repeatedly yelled racial slurs at the employee.

Veres pleaded guilty to Influencing a Federal Official by Threat. He also agreed to the application of the United States Sentencing Guidelines’ hate-crimes enhancement, which increases his offense level by three levels because he targeted the victim because of the victim’s perceived race or color.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, both sides will ask for a sentence of 30 months in prison. If the court accepts the plea agreement at the sentencing hearing, the recommendation will bind the Court.

As part of the plea agreement, Grays Harbor County will dismiss an unrelated prosecution against Veres for attempting to elude a police officer.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Protective Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Will Dreher, Jocelyn Cooney, and Elyne Vaught in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today to threatening an interracial couple via Facebook Messenger in January 2021, and with attempting to prevent the couple from reporting the threats and harassment to law enforcement.

Stephen M. DeBerardinis, 46, of Boston and Dedham, pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting in interstate commerce threats to injure a person; one count of tampering with a witness and victim by intimidation, threats, and corrupt persuasion; and one count of tampering with a witness and victim by harassment. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for June 10, 2024. DeBerardinis was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2021.

“This case demonstrates that you cannot cowardly hide behind a keyboard and spread bigotry, intimidation and fear. The spike we have all witnessed in hate-motivated threats of violence will not be tolerated, and our office remains steadfast in our commitment to aggressively pursue threats and acts of hate that are motivated by racism or bigotry,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Everyone deserves to live free from persecution and threats simply for who they are. Full stop.” 

“You can’t just threaten people online with racially motivated, violent physical harm and not face repercussions,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “What Stephen DeBerardinis put this couple through is despicable. The FBI takes all threats to life seriously and so should anyone thinking about making one. We will investigate, identify you, and ensure you’re held accountable for your actions.”

“This is another example of the value of bringing together the collective resources and expertise of the Boston Police Department with our State and Federal partners to keep our residents safe,” said Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox.

In late December 2020, the victims, a white woman and a Black man, announced their engagement on Facebook which included photographs of the couple. DeBerardinis, who did not know the couple personally, could view the photographs because he was a friend of one or more of the victims’ Facebook friends. On or about Jan. 6, 2021, DeBerardinis used Facebook Messenger to send the couple a series of threatening and harassing messages concerning the couple’s interracial relationship. For example, DeBerardinis wrote, “EWWWWWWWW YOUR A N***** F***** F****** DIRTY A** WHITE TRASH,” and continued with similar messages. When the couple messaged DeBerardinis that they were reporting him to law enforcement, he sent them a message that said, “SNITCHES GET STITCHES” with a picture of brass knuckles. DeBerardinis also threatened, “Read up more on me lol… you will see how me and my crew burn n*****s alive,” and “And white whores like you well [sic]…. get rape and killed THAN [sic] we cut off body parts and mail them to your family lol.” The victims reported the incident to local police, who contacted federal law enforcement. 
  
The charge of transmitting in interstate commerce threats to injure a person provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution. The charge of tampering with a witness and victim by intimidation, threats and corrupt persuasion provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, restitution and forfeiture. The charge of tampering with a witness and victim by harassment provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, restitution and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; FBI SAC Cohen; and Commissioner Cox made the announcement today. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Torey B. Cummings and Nadine Pellegrini of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

MIAMI – Melanie Harris, 59 of Riverside, California, pled guilty to knowingly and intentionally transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce.  Harris, who has been in custody since July 20, 2023, entered her guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jared M. Strauss on March 4.  Harris remains in custody and is scheduled for sentencing on May 23 before U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman in Miami, where she faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

According to the facts admitted at the change of plea, on October 3, 2022, Harris made multiple calls to Victim 1’s cell phone, and left four separate threatening voicemails, with the intent to communicate a true threat and with the knowledge that the communications would be seen as true threats.  In one of these four October 3 voicemails, Harris stated in relevant part: “I’ll cut your f—— head off kiker.”  The term “kike” has long been used as an anti-Semitic slur aimed at Jews.

Neither Victim 1 nor his wife, Victim 2, knew the identity of the person (Harris) calling Victim 1 with these threatening and harassing calls and voicemails.  Nor did they know where the calls were coming from because Harris concealed her phone number using the *67 feature.  However, all of these calls originated from the Riverside, California area, where Harris lived at the time, and were received by Victim 1’s phone in the Southern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the guilty plea. 

The FBI’s Miami Area Corruption Task Force, which also investigates civil rights violations, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward N. Stamm and Nardia Haye are prosecuting the case, which was indicted by Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry C. Wallace, Jr.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-60050. 

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Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – United States Attorney Prim Escalona announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office held an event at Alabama A&M University to promote the Department of Justice’s United Against Hate initiative.  The event, which included federal prosecutors and state and local law enforcement partners, focused on educating students on how to identify, report, and prevent hate crimes. 

With approximately 195 students attending, Alabama A&M hosted subject matter experts from the United States Attorney’s Office; Montrez Payton, Chief of Police, Alabama A&M University; and Tafeni English-Relf, State of Alabama Director, Southern Poverty Law Center.  Presenters highlighted differences between hate crimes and hate incidents and provided options for responding to hate incidents when situations do not constitute a federal or state crime. Presenters also distinguished unlawful conduct from protected First Amendment activity, including distinguishing between protected speech and speech that advocates violence or encourages people to commit hate crimes.

U.S. Attorney Escalona previously hosted meetings in November 2023 in the Birmingham area at Ramsay High School for students and faculty and in the community with the FBI Birmingham Division and the Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee, which consists of community leaders from across the Northern District of Alabama.

“Through the United Against Hate initiative, we are working with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners and community stakeholders to prevent hate crimes and incidents through education and awareness,” said U.S. Attorney Escalona.  “It is so important to build community trust so that people feel comfortable reporting hate crimes.  We want people to feel safe in their communities and that means they should be free of fear based on what they look like, where they are from, what faith they practice, and who they love.”

Those who believe they are subject to hate crimes or incidents should contact local law enforcement and the FBI.  Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/. Anyone in the Northern District of Alabama may also report civil rights violations to the Civil Rights coordinator of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama by calling 205-244-2001.

 

Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

DETROIT – A West Palm Beach man was indicted by a grand jury for repeatedly threatening the Council on American-Islamic Relations (“CAIR”) Michigan Chapter, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Chad Baugh, Chief of the Canton Police Department.

As alleged in the indictment, Michael Shapiro, 72,  of West Palm Beach, Florida, placed three separate phone calls to CAIR’s office located in Canton, Michigan, and left voicemails containing the following threats:

• December 8, 2023: “I’m going to kill you bastards. I’m going to kill you bastards.”
• December 14, 2023: ““I’m going to kill you m****r f*****g bastards. Muslims! I’m going to kill you m****r f*****s. I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!”
• December 15, 2023: “You’re a violent people. Why do you come to America? Why do you come to Europe? M***** f******. You’re violent. You’re killers. You’re rapists. I’m going to kill you m****r f*****s!”

Michael Shapiro, 72, was charged with three counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce. The indictment also alleges that Shapiro intentionally selected the victim of his threats because of the actual and perceived religion and national origin of the people who work at and are assisted by CAIR.

“Today’s charges should serve as a warning that those who threaten violence, especially when they intend to instill fear on an entire community, will be identified, investigated, and aggressively prosecuted,” U.S. Attorney Ison said.

“Threats motivated by religious bias can have a devastating impact on an entire faith community. For this reason, hate crimes are one of the FBI’s highest investigative priorities,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “We remain committed to working with our partners at the Canton Police Department and across the state to detect and prevent violent incidents motivated by bias or hate. We also urge the public to report any suspected hate crimes to your local police or the FBI at 1-800-225-5324. You may also submit an online tip at tips.fbi.gov.”

“The Canton Police Department extends sincere thanks to the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for their partnership in addressing threats by Michael Shapiro against the CAIR Michigan Chapter,” said Chief Baugh.  “Such collaborative efforts reinforce our commitment to combating hate crimes and ensuring community safety. We are resolute in our mission to uphold the safety and rights of every individual.”

An indictment is only a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Shapiro faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the 3 counts. If convicted, a federal court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Canton Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson.

Source: United States Department of Justice (Hate Crime)

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Sean Pietila, 20, of Pickford, Michigan was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for making a series of violent threats on June 1-2, 2023, to kill Jewish people. At the time he communicated those threats, Pietila was living in Lansing, Michigan. Evidence recovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) indicated that Pietila had identified a Jewish synagogue in East Lansing and a specific date in March 2024, and made a wish list of firearms and other weapons.                                                        

          “Today and every day we will take swift action to detect and disrupt hate crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “No Michigander should live in fear because of their race, ethnicity, religion, or any other protected status. I’m incredibly grateful to FBI Michigan and our other law enforcement partners for their diligence and dedication.”       

          In November 2023, Pietila pleaded guilty to sending numerous messages containing threats to kill others to an Instagram user located outside of Michigan. Those messages, which included references to Adolf Hitler and antisemitic language, talked of Pietila’s desire and plans to engage in a mass shooting in a manner similar to a specific past mass shooter. During execution of a federal search warrant in June 2023, the FBI found typed notes in Pietila’s cell phone that indicated plans to engage in a mass shooting and to commit suicide. For his actions, United States District Judge Robert Jonker sentenced Pietila to serve 12 months and one day in prison, 3 years of supervised release following incarceration, and pay $10,648 in restitution.

          “I am incredibly proud of the work of our office and appreciative of the collaborative efforts of our law enforcement partners in bringing the defendant to justice,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “There is absolutely no tolerance for threats of violence and intimidation in the state of Michigan and in our society. The FBI will vigorously pursue those who commit these actions.”

          The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, TRI-County Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT), Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET), and Michigan State Police Emergency Services Team. Assistant United States Attorney Chris O’Connor prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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