Colton Donner, Racially Motivated Hate Crime, Kansas 2023

A Kansas man has pleaded guilty to a racially motivated hate crime after he threatened a black man with a knife in a residential area of Paola, Kansas.

Colton Donner, 27, pleaded guilty to threatening an African American man with a knife because of the man’s race, and in order to intimidate and interfere with the man’s right to fair housing.

According to documents filed in connection with the plea, on Sept. 11, 2019, Donner was driving through a residential area of Paola, Kansas, when he saw the victim, an African American man, walking on the sidewalk. Donner stopped, got out of the car, and approached the victim while brandishing a knife.

Donner threatened the victim, yelled racial slurs, and told the victim that Paola is a “white town.”

“Using racially motivated threats of violence to drive someone out of their home or community is a deplorable crime, and the Justice Department stands ready to use our nation’s hate crimes laws to hold perpetrators accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Racially motivated hate crimes have no place in our society today. All people deserve to feel safe and secure living in their communities, regardless of race, color or national origin,” said Clarke.

Donner faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the civil rights offense.

The case was investigated by the Paola Police Department and the Kansas City Field Office of the FBI.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tristan Hunt of the District of Kansas and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

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