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John Daley ReportingTwo men convicted of conspiring to threaten and intimidate "nonwhites" in Salt Lake City were sentenced today.
One of the convicted men, Shaun Walker, is a former national leader of a white supremacist group called the National Alliance.
In April, a jury convicted Shaun Walker, Travis Massey and Eric Egbert of federal hate crimes.
The case revolved around two separate incidents in 2002 and 2003 in which a Hispanic bartender and a Native American bar patron were beaten and kicked outside the bars O-Shucks and Port O-Call by a group of people, including the three defendants, who were shouting racial epithets.
This afternoon Judge Lee Benson called the incidents "ugly" and said he believed Walker "was in charge." He sentenced him to more than seven years in prison. U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman said, "This sentence, 87 months for Mr. Walker, is going to be plenty of time for him to think about his involvement in crimes against individuals based on the color of their skin or their religious beliefs."
In court, Walker declined an opportunity to make a statement to the judge before sentencing.
In his sentencing, Eric Egbert did not express remorse over his role in the attacks, but he says he's changed. The judge found Egbert was not a major player in the events, but was a participant, and sentenced him to three and a half year in prison.
The third man, Travis Massey, was not sentenced today. He requested and was granted permission to replace the attorney who has been representing him with a new one. No date has been set for his sentencing.
