A federal grand jury in Albuquerque has indicted three Farmington men on hate-crime charges in what prosecutors say was a racially motivated attack on a mentally disabled Navajo man.
Justice Department officials say 27-year-old Paul Beebe (BEEB), 29-year-old William Hatch and 25-year-old Jesse Sanford face charges of conspiracy and violating a federal hate-crimes act.
They are accused of using a coat hanger to brand a swastika on the victim's arm in April.
Prosecutors say the defendants also shaved a swastika on the back of the man's head and used markers to write "KKK" and "White Power" on him. The indictment alleges the defendants made a cell phone video in which the victim, who has a significant cognitive impairment, purportedly consents to the branding.
Beebe, Hatch and Sanford also face state charges.