PRESS RELEASE

GRAND JURY RETURNS INDICTMENT CHARGING THREE MEN WITH CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH ALLEGED ATTACKS

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned a two-count indictment late Wednesday afternoon, unsealed late Thursday afternoon, charging three men with violations of federal civil rights laws in connection with alleged attacks on two individuals, a Mexican-American male and an individual of Native-American heritage. The indictment alleges the attacks took place in furtherance of a conspiracy to make “non-white” residents afraid to appear in public, live, or work in Salt Lake City.

The indictment was announced today by Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim of the Civil Rights Division, Acting U.S. Attorney for Utah Stephen J. Sorenson, and Timothy J. Fuhrman, Special Agent in Charge, Salt Lake City FBI.

Charged in the indictment are Shaun A. Walker, age 38, of Hillsboro, West Virginia; Travis D. Massey, age 29, of Salt Lake City; and Eric G. Egbert, age 21, of Salt Lake City. The three are members of the National Alliance, a white-supremacist group. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Timothy J. Fuhrman, Special Agent in Charge, Salt Lake City FBI, stated, “The FBI remains committed to thoroughly investigating and bringing to justice those individuals who would commit such violent acts against a person because of that person’s ethnic or religious background. Individuals such as the three defendants being prosecuted in this matter who align themselves with others of like mind and organize to commit such acts will receive appropriate justice when they engage in such activities. The FBI will continue to aggressively work on these investigations in concert with our state and local law enforcement partners, as we did with the Salt Lake City Police Department and other member agencies of the JTTF in this investigation.”

The three are charged with one count of conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and one count of interference with a federally protected activity.

The indictment alleges that from about December 2002 and continuing through about March 2003, Walker, Massey, and Egbert, together with others, conspired to threaten and intimidate individuals in the Salt Lake City area who were exercising federally protected rights to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages and accommodations of any place of public accommodation without intimidation, threat or coercion because race, color or national origin. The indictment alleges the defendants conspired to provoke and engage in arguments and fights with persons perceived to be “non-white” in order to make them afraid to appear in public, work and live in and around Salt Lake City.

In furtherance of the objectives of the conspiracy, the indictment alleges that on Dec. 31, 2002, Walker, Massey, and Egbert intimidated and threatened individuals of minority race and ethnic heritage in O’Shucks, a Salt Lake City bar. Specifically, the indictment alleges that the three men assaulted J.B., a Mexican-American male, because of his national origin and that J.B. suffered bodily injury.

The indictment also alleges that Massey and another person threatened and assaulted an individual of Native-American heritage on March 15, 2003, outside Port O’ Call, another Salt Lake City bar.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah has a long history of aggressively prosecuting hate crime and criminal conduct that impairs the free exercise of civil rights by our citizens. Today's indictment says, once again, that such conduct is not going to be tolerated in our communities,” Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Sorenson said today.

"People are free to espouse whatever foolish and hateful ideas they choose, but they are not free to act on those ideas in ways that harm others or intimidate them in the free exercise of basic rights. We will continue to aggressively enforce the civil rights of every citizen in this state,” Sorenson said.

Massey and Egbert, who were arrested Thursday in Utah, will appear in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City Friday at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Nuffer. Walker, who was arrested Thursday in West Virginia, will be arraigned after U.S. Marshals transport him back to Utah. The potential maximum penalty for the charges is up to 10 years in prison per count. Defendants charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.