A 52-year-old North Carolina man has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for committing hate crimes against a Black man and a Hispanic man.
According to the Justice Department, Marian Hudak was found guilty of willfully intimidating the victims and interfering with their enjoyment of federally protected activities using force or a threat of force because of their race and color.
The evidence presented at trial revealed that Hudak had a history of racial violence, including shouting racial slurs at minority motorists, parking his truck outside a Hispanic church, and making derogatory social media posts about Hispanic people.
On October 13, 2022, Hudak encountered a Black man he had never met before while driving on a public road in Concord, North Carolina. He shouted racial slurs at the man, punched his car window, and chased him home, continuing to threaten him.
Additionally, evidence showed that on November 27, 2021, Hudak attacked his Hispanic next-door neighbor by punching and tackling him, causing bodily injury.
The FBI Charlotte Field Office investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Waid and JoAnna McFadden, along with Trial Attorney Daniel Grunert of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section, prosecuted the case.
“Racially-motivated acts of violence are abhorrent and unlawful, and have no place in our society today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The severe sentence imposed for these vicious hate crimes should send a strong message that perpetrators of hate-fueled violence will be held accountable.”
“All people — regardless of the color of their skin or their nationality — are entitled to travel on public roads and enjoy their homes without fear of being threatened, harassed or intimidated,” said U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston for the Middle District of North Carolina. “The sentence imposed yesterday sends a strong message that this type of violent, hateful conduct will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt of the FBI Charlotte Field Office stated, “For years Marian Hudak terrorized people of color living in one North Carolina city. They were afraid to drive down certain streets, fill their cars with gas, or even to take their children to the bus stop because of his intolerance for people who didn’t look like him. There is no place for racial hatred-fueled violence in this country.”
Related Federal Cases
- Hudak Gets 41 Months for Racist Hate Crimes · North Carolina
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- California Man Charged for Hate-Fueled Threats Against North Carolinians · North Carolina
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- North Carolina Crime Spree 1995: Violent Crimes on the Rise · North Carolina
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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