The Justice Department announced Friday that a Michigan man had been charged for federal hate crimes after allegedly beating black teenagers with a bike lock.
Lee Mouat, 42, has been charged with violating 18 U.S.C. 249 by intentionally using a weapon to cause bodily harm to a black person and attempting to cause harm to another because of the victims’ race.
Michigan Man Indicted for Hate Crimes After Attacking African-American Teenagershttps://t.co/ImSYc2CuLi
— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) February 11, 2021
Mouat confronted several black teenagers at a park in Monroe, Michigan, according to an affidavit. He allegedly used racial slurs several times and told the teenagers that black people did not have the right to use the public beach, then used a bike lock to strike a teen in the face, breaking the victim’s jaw and several of his teeth. Mouat then attempted to hit another teen with the bike lock, according to the indictment. (RELATED: Hate Crime Murders Reached All Record High In 2019)
Mouat has been indicted, meaning he is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If he is convicted, Mouat will face a maximum of ten years in prison for each offense, the DOJ reported. (RELATED: ‘White Violence’ Is Used To Increase Surveillance ‘Against Communities Of Color,’ Activists Say)
The incident is currently under investigated by the FBI.