Concord man sentenced to 3-plus years in prison for hate crimes against Black, Hispanic men
GREENSBORO, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Concord man convicted of racially motivated hate crimes earlier this year was sentenced Wednesday to more than three years in prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, trial evidence proved that Marian Hudak, 52, willfully intimidated the victims and interfered with their enjoyment of federally protected activities using force, or a threat of force, because of their race and color.
Hudak was charged in June 2023 after being accused of a series of reported harassment incidents involving Black drivers, a Mexican family, and his neighbors.
“All people — regardless of the color of their skin or their nationality — are entitled to travel on public roads and enjoy their homes without fear of being threatened, harassed or intimidated,” said U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston. “The sentence imposed yesterday sends a strong message that this type of violent, hateful conduct will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
In addition to the 41-month sentence, Hudak received three years of supervised release.
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Concord man sentenced to 3-plus years in prison for hate crimes against Black, Hispanic men
Evidence at trial proved that, on Oct. 13, 2022, Hudak encountered a Black man, identified as J.S., while driving in Concord, and shouted racial slurs at him. After telling J.S. to “come here, boy,” Hudak swerved into J.S.’s lane, got out of his vehicle, and punched J.S.’s driver’s side window multiple times. When J.S. fled, Hudak chased him to his home where he continued shouting racial slurs and threatened to shoot and kill him.
A year earlier, evidence confirmed a similar encounter with a Hispanic man. Hudak attacked his neighbor, J.D., outside J.D.’s home because of his nationality. Hudak shouted racially charged insults at J.D. before attacking him. Hudak punched and tackled J.D., causing J.D. to suffer bodily injury, authorities said.
“For years Marian Hudak terrorized people of color living in one North Carolina city,” said Robert M. DeWitt of the FBI Charlotte Field Office. “They were afraid to drive down certain streets, fill their cars with gas, or even take their children to the bus stop because of his intolerance for people who didn’t look like him. There is no place for racial hatred-fueled violence.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Waid and JoAnna McFadden for the Middle District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Daniel Grunert of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted this case.
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