OKC man pleads guilty to hate crime faces maximum penalty

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - On Wednesday, an Oklahoma man pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Bernard M. Jones for the Western District of Oklahoma to a federal hate crime violation.

According to court documents, Braden Birdsong, a White man, of Oklahoma City, attacked D.G., a Black man, while cleaning the business parking where he was employed on August 25, 2023.

The filed plea documents reveal that Birdsong used racial slurs and other anti-black rhetoric when attacking D.G., who suffered bodily injury. Birdsong admitted in court that the assault on D.G. was because of his race and color.

Birdsong faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release while remaining in federal custody until formal sentencing.

The announcement was made by the following: Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Special Agent in Charge Douglas M. Goodwater of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office.

Read full press release here.