Two brothers charged with beating and urinating on a homeless immigrant in Boston, one of whom said they were inspired in part by Donald Trump's comments about immigrants, have been indicted on felony hate crime charges.
Scott Leader, 38, and Steve Leader, 30, both of South Boston, were indicted Thursday by a Suffolk County grand jury on civil rights violations while causing bodily injury, which carry a penalty of up to 10 years in state prison, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. The indictments also charge both men with assault and battery for purposes of intimidation causing bodily injury, two counts of assault and battery and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Both men have been in custody since their Aug. 19 arrests. They were ordered held without bail at their arraignment under the state's dangerousness statute. The indictments move their cases to Suffolk Superior Court.
The men allegedly kicked, punched and urinated on the victim, a 58-year-old Mexican immigrant who was sleeping near the JFK/UMass MBTA station, around 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 19. One of them allegedly hit the victim repeatedly with a metal pole. They then walked away laughing, according to witnesses.
The victim was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was treated for a broken nose, serious bruising across his torso and other injuries.
At the state police barracks in South Boston, Scott Leader allegedly made a series of incriminating statements, including that he and his brother "tuned up" an "illegal immigrant," and that his behavior was acceptable because the victim was homeless and Hispanic.
According to police, one brother also told officers that Republican presidential candidate Trump "was right" about deporting "all these illegals."
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Trump sent out a tweet in the wake of the assault calling the incident "terrible" and saying he would never condone violence.
No date has been set for their Superior Court arraignments. Their next scheduled court date is in Dorchester on Dec. 9.
