A US federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted a man from Washington on charges of hate crime against a 50-year-old Sikh.
Jamie larson, 49, has been charged with one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act that was enacted in October 2009, the Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday.
larson faces a maximum of 10 years in jail if convicted.
The single-page indictment does not provide details of the attack.
It alleges that on October 17, 2012, larson assaulted the victim, identified as KH, in Federal Way based upon the victim’s actual and perceived race, colour and national
origin.
However, state charges that were initially filed in the incident said larson attacked his Sikh cab driver, beating him savagely and using racially charged language.