SALT LAKE CITY – A man accused of yelling racial slurs at a black man's young son and then shocking the father with a stun cane has been charged with a federal hate crime.
Federal prosecutors in Utah said Friday that 58-year-old Mark Porter faces up to 10 years in prison on the civil rights charge.
Authorities say on Nov. 3 in Draper, Porter yelled a racial slur at the 7-year-old boy and told him to "get out of here." When the father told Porter not to yell at his son, Porter hit the man in the neck with a stun cane.
Porter's attorney Daniel Garner says his client maintains his innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in case.
State assault charges filed against Porter last year were dismissed due to the federal prosecution.
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