A federal court in Iowa accused an alleged white supremacist on Wednesday of a hate crime for viciously beating a semiconscious black man in a racially motivated attack, the Associated Press reports.
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Randy Joe Metcalf, 40, was out on bond, awaiting trial on state assault charges for the attack, when federal authorities arrested him Tuesday. The judge jailed Metcalf pending a detention hearing scheduled for Friday.
Metcalf, a felon, has pleaded not guilty to the state charges. Meanwhile, his attorney said that the fight was not racially motivated, according to AP.
On Jan. 12, Metcalf got into an argument with Lamarr Sandridge, 31, who was sitting with two white female friends at a bar in Dubuque, Iowa. Metcalf’s friend, 41-year-old Jeremy Sanders, put Sandridge in a headlock while his son, Joseph Sanders, 21, punched Sandridge in the face until he fell motionless to the ground.
Surveillance video captured Metcalf kicking Sandridge’s face while he was semiconscious. The beating resulted in a broken right eye socket and multiple bruises on Sandridge’s face.
FBI special agent Thomas Reinwart signed an affidavit saying that Metcalf displayed swastika tattoos and hurled racial slurs at the victim and his two friends.
The news agency said that First Assistant Dubuque County Attorney Chris Corken supports the federal charges, which took nearly a year to arrive because of the federal government’s careful review process.
Metcalf could spend up to 10 years in federal prison. His sentence would have been much lighter in state court. Jeremy and Joseph Sanders pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault charges and received probation.
Read more at the Des Moines Register.
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