Federal authorities announced on Tuesday that two men pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime after attacking a Black man and his friend in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment on Jan. 18 charging Devan Nathanial Johnson, 28, and Brandon Wayne Killian, 31, who are both White, with physically assaulting a Black man and his White friend in the parking lot of of a bar in Shawnee, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The indictment alleges that the Black man was assaulted because of the his race and color, according to the news release.
According to statements made before District Judge Bernard Jones at the plea hearings in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma this week, both defendants admitted to assaulting the Black man in the parking lot of the bar on June 22, 2019, because the man was Black.
The assault left the victim injured.
Both men face a up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $ 250,000 for the violation. Both defendants will also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim, according to the news release.
More about the assault allegations and case can be found here.
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