Federal Way Hate Crime Charges

Today the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed hate crime charges against two men for an incident in Federal Way. They also were charged with first-degree robbery.

The victim, a Black man, was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. We argued in court documents that the defendants are a threat to our community, and both pose a significant danger to the people of King County. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is focused on holding them accountable before a jury.

We asked a judge to hold each defendant in jail on $500,000 bail. A judge agreed.

These are the 45th and 46th hate crime charges filed this year by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. In 2019, we had 37 cases filed and 29 cases filed in 2018.

The arraignment for the defendants — their first appearance in this case that our office rush filed after the referral from Federal Way Police — is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 9.

Hate crimes were previously called malicious harassment under Washington State law. If you see malicious harassment listed in some places, such as the jail roster or cases filed prior to 2019, this refers to a hate crime.

This post is based on information available as of October 27, 2020, and is not expected to be updated as the case moves forward.