A Colorado man convicted of a federal hate crime has been sent to federal prison in Oregon for stabbing a black man in the throat.
Nolan Levy Strauss, 27, was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in federal prison and five years in custody.
December 21, 2019, Ontario, Ore. Strauss told a food worker that right after the attack, he stabbed the hunter “because he’s black, and I don’t like blacks,” according to prosecutors.
The victim, who was unfamiliar with Strauss, was at the restaurant as part of a job application. Strauss approached him from behind during the attack. He was arrested on the spot. The victim was taken to a hospital in Boes, Idaho, for emergency surgery for two large neck injuries.
On Sept. 1, 2020, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a count of charges involving attempted murder of Strauss. According to a press release, he pleaded guilty June 17 to the charges.
“This defendant is being held accountable for his brutal and racially motivated attacks against a black man because of his skin color,” said Kristen Clark, assistant attorney general for the Department of Civil Rights. “Racially motivated attacks have no place in our society, and the Department of Civil Rights will strictly enforce federal laws that prohibit biased violence.”
