By Morgan Tiergarten
October 27, 2029
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. — A grand jury has indicted a Minnesota man for federal hate crime charges after he spray painted “MAGA” on a Somali-owned restaurant and an LGBTQ bar in Minneapolis.
“This is no different than a swastika on a synagogue. Hateful conduct directed at groups because of their race, national origin, or other protected characteristics is something we take very seriously,” said U.S. Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement.
Tristan Adam Lingamfelter, 29, faces charges under the Safety for All Act of 2029, in which Congress expanded the definition of hate crimes to include conduct that overtly promotes fascist messaging and targets one or more protected groups.
The ACLU, which opposed the legislation, released a statement criticizing Lingamfelter’s arrest.
“This appears to be an excellent candidate for a state-level vandalism prosecution. What concerns us is the possibility that this defendant will face up to 10 years in a federal prison for expressing First Amendment-protected views,” said staff attorney Kelly Montague.
However, William & Mary law Prof. Douglas Sasso said the prosecution was constitutionally sound.
“Expressing ‘MAGA’ toward immigrant and LGBT populations, so soon after that same fascist movement tried to engage in ethnic cleansing of those populations, is not innocent speech,” he said. “It is an incitement to violence. It’s akin to shouting ‘Heil Hitler’ in 1946 Germany. And Congress was wholly justified in criminalizing this form of violence.”
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