Hate In America: Mentally Challenged Man Branded

A 22-year-old Native American was kidnapped and branded with swasticas by three men in Farmington, New Mexico.

The three white men are accused of forcing the 22-year-old victim from the Navajo Indian reservation into a car April 29, and driving him to an apartment to abuse him. Police say the trio also shaved a swastika into the man's hair and drew degrading words and pictures on his body with permanent marker.

"They held him down and forcibly branded him," Sgt. Robert Perez of the Farmington Police Department said, according to KRQE TV. "He was drawn on with images of hate speech."

The men have been charged with kidnapping and aggravated battery as the FBI reviews the case to determine if it constitutes a hate crime. Prosecutors in Farmington intend to pursue hate crime charges, according to the Associated Press.

The victim, who last Friday called for help from a Farmington store, told police that the three men – Paul Beebee, Jess Sanford and William Hatch – had persuaded him to go into an apartment with them. Officers searched that apartment and found more evidence. The suspects’ excuse was farfetched, said the police.

"Their claim was that the 22-year-old victim was willing to have himself branded and shaved and written on with some of the hate speech and graphic images that were painted on his body," Perez told KRQE TV. Sanford is in custody, but police are still searching for the other two suspects. The victim, scarred by a hot wire hanger that was used to burn the swastika into his arm, has been returned to his family.


Soures: New York Daily News and The Associated Press