Ole Hougen, Hate Crime, California 2023
A shocking hate crime in California has left many shaken. Ole Hougen, 44, of Santa Cruz, was convicted of a federal hate crime for attempting to stab a Black man with a knife on a street in Santa Cruz.
According to evidence presented at trial, Hougen confronted a 29-year-old Black man who was crossing a street in Santa Cruz. Hougen took out a nine-inch knife and swiped multiple times at the man’s head, chest, and stomach, while yelling racial slurs at him.
Hougen was on probation at the time of the attack, having pleaded no contest to state charges that he committed a racially motivated assault on a different Black man in 2018.
The Justice Department will continue to prosecute bias-motivated crimes in an effort to secure justice for victims and their communities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marissa Harris and Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government, while the FBI San Francisco Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Santa Cruz Police Department.
Hougen is scheduled to be sentenced on July 26 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The case is part of a larger effort to address hate-based violence and discrimination, with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland conducting a 30-day review of the department’s enforcement efforts.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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