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Defendants Charged in Antisemitic Hate Crime, Pittsburgh PA, 2024
A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh has charged six residents of the greater Pittsburgh area with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, obstructing justice, and conspiring to obstruct justice in relation to a September 2024 attack on a Jewish male in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the charges were filed against six Pittsburgh-area residents: Jacob Michael Koller, 22, of Mount Lebanon; Ethan James Flynn, 21, of Bethel Park; Samuel James Thompson, 23, of Pittsburgh; Logan Michael Smith, 20, of Bethel Park; Tyler James Johnson, 21, of Whitehall; and Matthew Lee Walker, 24, of Mount Lebanon.
The defendants are accused of participating in a conspiracy to assault a Jewish male, who is not being named, on September 2024, in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The assault, which was motivated by antisemitic bias, resulted in serious bodily injury to the victim.
The defendants are also charged with obstructing justice and conspiring to obstruct justice, in relation to their attempts to conceal evidence of the assault and to intimidate potential witnesses.
The charges were announced by Acting U.S. Attorney S. Andrew Wiersma for the Western District of Pennsylvania. ‘These charges demonstrate our commitment to holding individuals accountable for hate crimes and other violent offenses,’ Wiersma said in a statement.
The defendants are scheduled to appear in federal court in Pittsburgh for their initial appearances. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison for violating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, up to 20 years for obstruction of justice, and up to 5 years for conspiracy to obstruct justice.
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