Maurice Diggins, Hate Crimes Assaults, Maine 2018

Portland, Maine: Maurice Diggins, a Biddeford man, was found guilty of conspiring to commit hate crimes and of actually committing hate crimes by engaging in a series of racially motivated attacks against black men in Maine.

A three-day jury trial led to Diggins' conviction, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank of the District of Maine.

Dreiband stated, 'Today's conviction demonstrates that the Justice Department will not tolerate horrific racially-motivated attacks.' The jury's verdict reflects the sad fact that racism and violence remain linked more than 150 years after our nation abolished slavery.

U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank of the District of Maine said, 'Today, a jury found Maurice Diggins guilty of committing three hate crimes.' At trial, the government proved that Diggins conspired with his nephew, Dusty Leo, to brutally assault two men because they were black.

Diggins and Leo's behavior was despicable. It violated America's and Maine's core values that all men are created equal, that they are entitled to pursue their lives without racial discrimination, and entitled to be safe from being assaulted because of the color of their skin.

According to evidence presented at trial, on April 15, 2018, defendant Diggins and his nephew, Dusty Leo, committed two separate racially motivated assaults, one in Portland and one in Biddeford. In the Portland assault, which occurred just before 1:00 a.m., Diggins attacked a black Sudanese male without provocation, breaking the victim's jaw. During that same incident, Diggins and Leo assaulted another black man who was standing nearby. Witnesses heard Diggins and Leo using racial epithets during the incidents.

In the second incident, which occurred approximately an hour later and approximately 20 miles away in Biddeford, defendant Diggins and Leo drove in Leo's truck into the parking lot of a convenience store, where Diggins got out of the truck and approached a black man who was walking toward the store's entrance. Diggins directed a racial slur at the man and distracted him while Leo got out of the truck and sucker-punched him in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. The unprovoked attack broke the victim's jaw in several places.

Leo pleaded guilty on February 25, admitting that he conspired to commit hate crimes and that he committed the hate crime against the victim in Biddeford.

Diggins faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the two hate crime charges, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/pr/biddeford-man-convicted-hate-crime-assaults