Four white in Washington were sentenced for hate crimes on Monday after a 2018 assault on a Black man in a bar in Lynnwood.

According to the DOJ, Jason DeSimas, 45, Jason Stanley, 46, Randy Smith, 42, and Daniel Dorson, 27, previously each pleaded guilty to one count of committing a hate crime, as well as one count of making false statements to investigators about their role in the assault.

Each defendant admitted in their plea agreements that on Dec. 8, 2018, they entered a bar in Lynnwood, with a large group that included fellow members of Crew 38 and the Hammerskins, two white supremacist organizations operating in the state of Washington.

All four defendants were members of Crew 38 and/or prospective members of the Hammerskins, and they had traveled to the Lynnwood area with others to attend events related to “Martyr’s Day,” an annual gathering honoring a white supremacist who died in a shootout with federal agents on Whidbey Island in the 1980s.

After entering the bar, the four men approached a Black man who was serving as the disc jockey at the bar. When the man attempted to move defendant Stanley away from his music equipment, all four defendants punched and kicked him, even after he fell to the floor, while some in the group called him racial slurs. As a result of their attack, the Black man suffered serious physical injuries, including extrema pain, loss of consciousness, bleeding and swelling in his eye, and bruising on his back, chest, and legs. When two bystanders tried to stop the assault, the defendants then attacked the bystanders as well. 

“Imagine being attacked by four men purely because of the color of your skin,” said Special Agent in Charge Richard A. Collodi of the FBI Seattle Field Office. “The victim in this case does not have to imagine. Tragically, he lived it. With today’s sentences, my hope is the victim feels some sense of justice has been served. However, until all citizens are safe from threats and violence based on their race, ethnicity, gender, or beliefs, the FBI’s work protecting victims of hate will continue.”

As well as the hate crime charge, each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to federal agents. According to the DOJ, Stanley falsely claimed to the agents that he was not even present in the State of Washington during the weekend of the assault.

DeSimas falsely claimed that neither he nor anyone else called the victim a racial slur during the assault, while Smith falsely claimed that he did not remember anyone calling the victim a racial slur. Dorson falsely told agents that he had not traveled to Washington State during the weekend of the assault to attend a white supremacist’s “Martyr’s Day” observance. 

“The myth of white supremacy is alive and well and can foment dangerous behavior and violence,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington.

“These particular defendants are deeply steeped in racial hatred, expressed through their Nazi tattoos, white supremacist symbols on their clothing, and their use of racist slurs. They came to our area to honor a man who died leading a racist and violent gang and thought they could act on their beliefs with impunity. But the victims and witnesses of their brutal assault have proved they are far stronger than these four. And today our justice system is holding them accountable for the damage they did not only to the people they assaulted but to the community that recoils when presented with their despicable hatred.”

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