U.S. man gets 15 years for ‘hate violence’, Somali cafe attack in North Dakota

Follow us on Social Media

Social sharing

By Eric M. Johnson

(Reuters) – An American man who threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of a Somali restaurant in North Dakota was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday over what federal prosecutors said was an act of “hate violence.”

Matthew Gust, a 26-year-old of Grand Forks, North Dakota, pleaded guilty to arson and hate-crime charges on May 19, Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

Gust in a plea agreement admitted that he threw a lighted beer bottle filled with gasoline into the Juba CafĂ© in Grand Forks in the early morning hours of Dec. 8 to “intimidate and interfere with the Somali employees and patrons,” Gupta said, calling Gust a perpetrator of “hate violence.”

An attorney for Gust did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The North Dakota incident came a little more a month after Islamic State’s Nov. 13 gun and bomb attacks on entertainment sites around Paris, France, that left dozens dead.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a U.S.-based Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, said it had received more reports of discrimination, intimidation, threats and violence targeting Muslim-Americans in the wake of the Paris siege than during any other period since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. Somalia is heavily Muslim.

In the North Dakota incident, the early-morning explosion and fire caused more than $250,000 in damage, federal prosecutors said.

It took local firefighters roughly 20 minutes to put out the blaze, authorities said at the time.

Gust had earlier been indicted by a grand jury for using a destructive device in the commission of a crime, though that charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement, federal prosecutors said.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

 

THE ROTTEN FISH: CAN OF WORMS OPENED OF APC & TINUBU'S GOVERNMENT OVER NIGERIA'S ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

WATCH THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND KNOW THE RESPONSIBLE PARTIES TO BLAME FOR NIGERIA'S ECONOMIC CHALLENGES, WHILE CITIZENS ENDURE SEVERE HARDSHIPS.

Watch this episode of ISSUES IN THE NEWS on 9News Nigeria featuring Peter Obi's Special Adviser, Dr Katch Ononuju, 9News Nigeria Publisher, Obinna Ejianya and Tinubu Support Group Leader, McHezekiah Eherechi

The economic crisis and hardship in Nigeria are parts of the discussion.


Watch, leave your comments, and share to create more awareness on this issue.


#9NewsNigeria #Nigeria #issuesInTheNews #politics #tinubu THE ROTTEN FISH: CAN OF WORMS OPENED ...
DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE AND LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS FOR SUBSEQUENT UPDATES
#9newsnigeria #economia #economy #nigeria #government @9newsng
www.9newsng.com

Facebook comment

Click on the link below or Scan the QR Code to join the 9News Nigeria WhatsApp Channel

9News Nigeria Investigative Reports WhatsApp Channel
9News Nigeria Investigative Reports WhatsApp Channel
About 9News Nigeria 13416 Articles
9News Nigeria is Nigeria's favourite news source. For Authentic, Unbiased News on Politics, Business, Sports, Technology, Entertainment and Lifestyles, Health, Nollywood, Crime and Investigations, Family and Relationships, Inspirations .. and much more. For Latest News from Africa and around the world, 9News Nigeria is your best source. WhatsApp +2348115805632 Email: info@9newsng.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/9NewsNG | Twitter/Instagram: @9newsng