The Department of Justice hit a man with a federal hate crime accusing him of leaving threatening and harassing messages with employees of a Sikh non-profit, reported the American Kahani.

Prosecutors say Bhushan Athale, 48, left seven messages at the organization that advocates for the civil rights of Sikhs and expressed extreme hatred and went so far as threatening to kill or cripple them.

The Department of Justice described the messages as filled with violent imagery and obscenity.

The name of the organization has not been made public, the Dallas Morning News reported.

One Sikh temple in Irvine, Texas said the significance of the hate crime charge cannot be overestimated.

”That gives us statistics and tells us how many people are doing that, and what we need to do and what our elected officials need to do to reduce those types of things,” said Harbhajan Singh of the Gurdwara Nishkam Seva to the Morning News.

The Department of Justice says Athale has a long history of making threats against religious-based organizations. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts to produce diverse content about the AAPI communities. We are supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.

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