A Texas man, Bushan Athale, 49, has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges after making violent threats against a Sikh civil rights nonprofit in New Jersey, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Athale admitted to interfering with federally protected activities and transmitting interstate threats to injure individuals.
Court documents reveal that in September 2022, Athale left seven voicemails targeting Sikh employees at the organization, expressing violent intent and threatening to forcibly shave their hair and force them to consume tobacco, acts that directly violate Sikh religious beliefs. In March 2024, he called again, leaving two additional voicemails laced with hateful rhetoric directed at Sikhs, Muslims, and Jews.
Prosecutors also disclosed that Athale had a history of sending death threats. In 2021, he messaged a Muslim coworker, expressing his intent to harm them and their family. In 2024, he sent additional threats to a recruiter he believed to be Muslim, further demonstrating his pattern of religiously motivated intimidation.
Athale faces up to 15 years in federal prison, along with a potential fine of $250,000. His sentencing is scheduled for June 3, 2025, in Camden federal court. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and NJ.com.
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Indian news media says Bhushan Athale is Asian-American. How often are Asian-Americans convicted of hate crimes?