Palm Harbor man found guilty of federal hate crime for racist road rage incident

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Palm Harbor man was found guilty of a federal hate crime for an August 2021 road rage incident involving a Black man driving with his family. A release from the Department of Justice said a federal jury in Tampa found Jordan Patrick Leahy, 29, guilty of trying to run a Black family’s car off the road and attempting to assault the driver.

PCSO: Riverview man arrested in racist attack, said he wants to kill ’60 to 70′ people in mass shooting On August 8, 2021, the victim, identified as J. T. , was driving his daughter and girlfriend home from a family get-together when Leahy began threatening him, calling him racial slurs and trying to run him off the road.

The DOJ said Leahy followed J. T. for about a mile and a half before side-swiping his car and driving away from the scene of the crash.

Both cars eventually came to a stop at a red light. Leahy got out of his car and tried to assault J. T.

, again hurling slurs at him. According to an affidavit obtained by News Channel 8 last year, Leahy then punched the victim in the chest before getting overpowered, with the victim subduing Leahy with a submission hold. When Pinellas County deputies arrived, they said Leahy made numerous racist statement, including his opinion that Black people should be kept “in their areas”.

The affidavit said Leahy told them he “got out, threw the Nazi salute, and wanted to fight a random colored person. ” After being taken into custody, Leahy told deputies he wanted to shoot 60 to 70 people in the face and then kill himself by a gunshot to the neck, the affidavit said. Leahy said killing people would be “the most fulfilling thing he would experience in life” and that society needs to be concerned about how easy it would be for him to cause a mass shooting, according to the document.

“Across America, families must be able to freely travel our public streets without fear of being attacked because of race,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said. “This verdict should send a strong message that the Department of Justice remains firmly committed to prosecuting, to the fullest extent of the law, those who would use violence to enforce heinous racist beliefs. ” “No one should be targeted, threatened, intimidated or assaulted because of their race,” said U.

S. Attorney Roger Handberg. “The defendant in this case acted upon his bigoted beliefs and put an entire family and others’ safety at risk.

We and our local, state and federal law enforcement partners will not tolerate such behaviors in our community. ” Deadly Florida road rage shooting believed to be ‘stand your ground’ case: police “Hate crimes are not just an attack on an individual, they are an attack on entire communities,” said Special Agent in Charge David Walker. “We want to assure the public the FBI will work diligently investigating crimes driven by hate and intolerance.

We encourage anyone who believes their civil rights have been violated to report it to the FBI. ” Leahy faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. He remains in the Pinellas County jail under the custody of U.

S. Marshals pending sentencing. .