ADL Welcomes Indictment of Four Men on Hate Crime Charges in Houston Assault

Date: January 19, 2012

Houston, TX, January 19, 2012 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the indictment by a federal grand jury in Houston of four men on federal hate crimes charges for their alleged role in the assault of an African-American man at a bus stop last year.

Charles Cannon, Michael McLaughlin, Brian Kerstetter, and Joseph Staggs were charged with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) in connection with the August 13 assault.   The four men allegedly attacked a 29-year-old man at a downtown Houston bus stop while hurling racial epithets at the victim.

"Hate crimes warrant a priority response from everyone," said Dena Marks, ADL Associate Regional Director. "Such crimes can have a broader impact, leaving communities feeling victimized, vulnerable, fearful, isolated, and unprotected.  We applaud the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department for investigating this horrific assault as a potential hate crime."

According to the indictment, at least one of the defendants used racial slurs and all four defendants surrounded the victim, punching and kicking his head, face and body.  Three of the alleged attackers had tattoos associated with white supremacist gangs.  Police reported that the suspects said they were affiliated with the Texas Aryan Brotherhood, one of the largest and most violent racist prison gangs in the United States.

ADL played an instrumental role in securing passage of the HCPA in 2009, and published its first model hate crimes statute more than 30 years ago.  Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws based on or similar to the ADL model. 

For more information or to set up an interview, please call Dena Marks at 713-627-3490, ext. 134, or via cell phone at 832-567-8843.