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SALT LAKE CITY — A 70-year-old man faces federal hate crime charges for allegedly writing a note threatening to kill an interracial Hurricane family if they didn't leave town.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah charged Robert Keller with two misdemeanor counts of criminal interference with a right to fair housing.
Prosecutors allege that Keller wrote a note to two white members of an interracial family threatening to kill them if they did not make their African-American family member leave their home and the community.
The first count alleges the threats interfered with the rights of the white residents to associate in their home with their African-American family member, and the second count alleges the threats interfered with the African-American resident’s right to live in the home.
A summons will be issued to Keller to appear in court. If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison on each count.
