Four men with white supremacist ties are serving prison time after a federal judge sentenced them for beating a Black disc jockey in a violent, alleged racially motivated attack in Washington State.
“It’s been a long road for me,” Tyrone Smith said to the Daily Herald after the sentencing hearing.
During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones referred to the white men guilty of federal hate crimes as “modern-day, unhooded” KKK, the Associated Press reported.
Jason DeSimas, 45, Jason Stanley, 46, Randy Smith, 42, and Daniel Dorson, 27, each pleaded guilty to one count of committing a hate crime and one count of making false statements to investigators about their role in the assault, the U.S. State’s Attorney Office Western District of Washington announced.
Tyrone Smith, who is Black, was working as a DJ at a bar in Lynnwood, Washington, about 17 miles north of Seattle the night of Dec. 8, 2018. The Daily Herald reported a “belligerent group of white men flashed Nazi salutes on the dance floor.”
A large group of men that “included fellow members of Crew 38 and the Hammerskins,” according to a press release from the U.S. State’s Attorney Office Western District of Washington, wore dark jeans, black boots, black “bomber” jackets, dark-colored T-shirts and crew-cut hairstyles. Crew 38 reportedly is a support group for the Hammerskins, a white supremacist organization. Their clothing showcased “white supremacist beliefs,” including a noose. Some of the men had swastikas tattoos, the Department of Justice added.
The phrasing on their clothing included “Save Your Race,” “Strength Thru Hate,” and “New Confederacy,” the Daily Herald reported.
Tyrone Smith became a target of the racist group when Smith “attempted to move defendant Stanley away from his music equipment,” the press release states.
The four defendants “punched and kicked” Smith and even attacked two bystanders who…
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