A federal grand jury indicted a Quincy, Massachusetts man, who allegedly struck an Asian man with his vehicle in December last year, on a hate crime charge this Wednesday.
John Sullivan, 77, was officially charged with the hate crime for willfully harming someone based on their race and national origin, according the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts.
On December 2, 2022, authorities say Sullivan threatened the victim and his sister, who recorded the incident, with racial slurs in front of a post office.
“He looked at our family, and then he told us to go back to China,” the victim’s sister Desiree Thien told NBC10. “And then he said to us, he’s going into the post office, ‘When I come back out in five minutes, if you’re still here, I’m going to kill all of you.'”
Sullivan then allegedly rammed the victim with his vehicle twice before being arrested. The victim suffered a fractured shoulder, a concussion, and multiple injuries.
Sullivan pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. A judge ruled on Dec. 8 that Sullivan was not a significant danger and released him to home confinement.
“If I didn’t have the video, and I didn’t have the pictures, it would be hearsay between me and John Sullivan,” the victim’s sister Desiree Thien told NBC10. “I’m demanding the maximum sentence and the maximum fine because I want to send out the statement that hate crime has no place in America.”
U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Rachael Rollins condemned the attack in the release.
“Our thoughts are with the victim and their family at this time,” Rollins said. “The alleged hate-filled and violent behavior of Mr. Sullivan is reprehensible and we intend to hold him accountable.”
Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division Joseph Bonavolonta, emphasized the need for community members to report hate-based crimes to the FBI.
“There is no way to undo the alleged damage that Mr. Sullivan did to this victim with his hateful, repulsive, and violent behavior,” Bonavolonta said. ““Hate crimes are not only an attack on the victim, but they also instill fear and threaten and intimidate an entire community…”
Sullivan faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
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