Seattle – The second of four defendants pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to a federal hate crime, and making false statements in connection with a December 8, 2018, racially-motivated assault, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jason DeSimas, 45, of Tacoma, Washington, is one of four men from across the Pacific Northwest being prosecuted for punching and kicking a Black man and making derogatory comments about his actual and perceived race at a bar in Lynnwood, Washington. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones scheduled sentencing for July 8, 2022.
According to the plea agreement, DeSimas was a prospective member of a white supremacist group that was traveling in the Seattle area to celebrate a known white supremacist, killed in a standoff with police in the 1980s. DeSimas had discussed using “mutual combat” against members of groups he opposed such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter. DeSimas believed that he and his group could go into bars and initiate fights, so that the rest of the members of the group could join in. In the early morning hours of December 8, 2018, the men went to the bar in Lynnwood, Washington and assaulted a Black man who was working as a DJ. The group also assaulted two other men who came to the DJ’s aid. The attackers shouted racial slurs and made Nazi salutes both before and during the assault.
In addition to the hate crime DeSimas admits making false statements to the FBI during the investigation of the case. Jason DeSimas falsely claimed that neither he nor anyone else used a racial slur during the assault. In fact, DeSimas now admits that he repeatedly used a racial slur before, during, and after the assault.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, both sides will recommend a 37-month prison term. U.S. District Judge Richard Jones is not bound by the recommendation. The ultimate sentence will be determined by Judge Jones after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Daniel Delbert Dorson, 24 of Corvallis, Oregon, has pleaded guilty in the case and is scheduled for sentencing August 19, 2022. Jason Stanley, 44, of Boise, Idaho and Randy Smith, 39, of Eugene, Oregon, are also charged in the case and are in custody awaiting trial.
The hate crime charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. The false statements charge carries a maximum penalty of five years.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca S. Cohen and Ye-Ting Woo and Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.