North Carolina man who harbored Nazi memorabilia and attacked Black and Latino men sentenced to 41 months

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A North Carolina man was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison and three years of supervised release for committing hate crimes against Black and Latino men, according to Justice Department officials.

Evidence at trial proved 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.

“For years Marian Hudak terrorized people of color living in one North Carolina city,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt of the FBI Charlotte Field Office.

“They were afraid to drive down certain streets, fill their cars with gas, or even to 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 in this country,” DeWitt said.

Evidence at trial proved that on Oct. 13, 2022, Hudak encountered a Black man he had never met before, while they were driving on a public road in Concord, North Carolina.

Hudak shouted racial slurs at the man. He told him to “come here, boy,” then got out of his car, punched the victim’s window multiple times, then chased the victim all the way home, where he continued to shout racial slurs and threatened him.

“Racially-motivated acts of violence are abhorrent and unlawful, and have no place in our society today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“This defendant, who harbored the KKK flag and Nazi paraphernalia, carried out hate-fueled attacks on a Black man who was merely driving on a public street and a Hispanic man who simply was trying to live in his own home. The severe sentence imposed for these vicious hate crimes should send a strong message that perpetrators of hate-fueled violence will be held accountable. The Justice Department is steadfast in its commitment to investigating and prosecuting hate crimes wherever they occur in our country,” said Clarke.

According to court documents obtained by the Wisconsin Law Journal, federal agents discovered a Velcro patch with a swastika on it, in the back of one of Hudak’s drawers.

At one point, Hudak was caught yelling “F*ck Black people” over a loudspeaker at a suburban Charlotte Sam’s Club.

Court documents noted, while it is legal to own Nazi paraphernalia, it is illegal to terrorize people driving on the street.

“It is not legal to terrorize people who live next to you because you don’t like the color of their skin or where you think they are from. It is not legal to attack them for those reasons,” court documents noted.

Evidence at trial also proved that on Nov. 27, 2021, Hudak shouted racially charged insults at a second victim, his next-door neighbor, a Latino man “who was enjoying his right to occupy a dwelling.”

Hudak then attacked the second victim by punching and tackling him, causing him to suffer bodily injury. Other trial witnesses testified about Hudak’s history of social media posts disparaging Hispanic people generally and the second victim’s family specifically.

In other instances, Hudak intimidated Hispanic people, including by parking his truck outside of a Hispanic church during worship services and by using derogatory language, Justice Department officials said.

According to court documents, Hudak yelled “Go back you F*cking Mexican, we don’t want you dirty people,”  in front Latino children who were waiting for their school bus.

“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 for the Middle District of North Carolina.

“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,” Hairston said.

The FBI Charlotte Field Office investigated the case.

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 the case.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, hate crimes in Wisconsin based on race or religion have nearly tripled in the past three years.