Hate Crime Claim

Attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) announced in a June 16, 2009 DOJ Press Release that two Oregon men have been sentenced to serve time in federal prison for conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights.  See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-crt-595.html .  According to the DOJ Press Release, both defendants were ordered to serve three years of supervised release after fulfilling their prison terms and pay restitution to the victims.  As stated in the Press Release, Defendant Moss poured a flammable liquid in the shape of a cross and the letters KKK on the front lawn of a residence leased by an African-American, his Hispanic wife and their two small children, and Defendant Klausegger then handed Moss a small explosive device which Moss used to start a fire on the lawn.  The fire was close enough to the victims’ house to endanger the dwelling and its occupants, including the couple’s two small children, but a neighbor fortunately grabbed a water hose and extinguished the fire before the victims could be harmed.  In connection with their guilty please, the Defendants admitted that they acted with the intent to interfere with the victims’ rights under the Fair Housing Act because they knew that the person who leased the residence was African-American.  A DOJ attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “Crimes motivated by racial hatred are an abomination in a civilized society.” 

Whether hate crimes based on race occur in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere, hate crime victims may contact federal authorities such as the DOJ and an attorney or lawyer to determine if criminal charges or a race discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential hate crime claim.