- A Florida man has been convicted of a hate crime for a road rage incident.
- Jordan Patrick Leahy tried to run a Black man off the road and assault him.
- He didn’t know his victim was a mixed-martial artist who fought back and put him in a chokehold.
The victim was a mixed martial artist who fought back. And held the attacker in a chokehold during a road rage incident that occurred in Florida last year. The perpetrator attempted to run a Black guy driving with his family off the road and abuse him.
According to a release from the Department of Justice, a federal jury in Tampa found 29-year-old Jordan Patrick Leahy guilty on Wednesday. Guilty of interfering with the victim’s constitutionally protected right to drive on the street during the incident.
The victim, known only by his initials J.T., was allegedly singled out by Leahy for the incident. Due of his race and colour as well as the fact that he was on a public road. According to the prosecution, who described it as a “racially motivated attack.”
According to court records, J.T. was travelling to Clearwater, Florida, with his girlfriend and 4-year-old daughter when Leahy came across them while on the road.
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According to the trial evidence, Leahy pulled up next to J.T., yelled racist epithets. And imitated shooting at J.T.’s car with hand motions.
Prosecutors claimed that he then attempted to push the victim’s vehicle off the road using his own vehicle. Before sideswiping J.T’s automobile and fleeing the scene, Leahy is said to have followed the victim for almost a mile and a half.
Leahy was overtaken by J.T. when he pulled up behind him at a stop sign, according to authorities.
The press release stated that Leahy then “got out of his car, stormed at J.T.. And also tried to assault him, again hurling racial slur.”
Leahy attempted to strike J.T., but since Leahy was unaware that J.T. was a skilled mixed-martial artist. The latter quickly locked Leahy in a chokehold, rendered him unconscious. And held him there until the police could arrive, according to court records.
Leahy allegedly made “several statements indicating his discriminatory motive” when confronted by Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office officers, including that Black people should be kept “in their neighbourhoods,” the release added. According to the prosecution, Leahy could receive a term of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Prior to being sentenced, he was remanded into the U.S. Marshals’ custody.
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