An Oregon man who is an admitted white supremacist has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime and false statement charges stemming from the 2018 assault of a Black man in Washington state.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said that Randy Smith, 42, pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in assaulting a Black man at a bar in Lynwood, Washington, on Dec. 8, 2018.
On that date, federal prosecutors said that Smith entered the bar with other members of a white supremacist group by giving a “Nazi salute.” Smith later assaulted the victim, who was only identified as a disc jockey named “T.S.,” after Smith believed T.S. was being disrespectful to the white supremacist group.
The attorney’s office said that Smith repeatedly punched T.S., as other members of the group punched, kicked and stomped on T.S. while calling him racial slurs.
Two bystanders attempted to intervene, and they were subsequently assaulted by members of the white supremacist group. Federal prosecutors said that both T.S. and the bystanders suffered injuries from the assault.
Smith’s guilty plea for making false statements stems from him lying to FBI agents about using racial slurs during the assault. The attorney’s office said Smith knowingly lied about using the racial slurs to try and cover up the assault’s bias-related motive.
The hate crime charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, and the false statement charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison. Smith will be sentenced on Nov. 18.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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