A Dallas County man has been sentenced to 26 months in prison for a federal hate crime and making violent threats against employees of a Sikh nonprofit organization. The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Alina Habba for the District of New Jersey.
Bhushan Athale, aged 49, from Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel in Camden federal court. He admitted to interfering with federally protected activities using a dangerous weapon and transmitting interstate threats.
Court documents reveal that on September 17, 2022, Athale called an organization advocating for Sikh civil rights in the United States multiple times. He left messages threatening violence against its employees. Further calls were made on March 21, 2024, where he expressed hatred towards Sikhs and Muslims using violent language.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon stated, “The Department of Justice has no tolerance for hate-fueled threats of violence in our country, and we appreciate the strong efforts of U.S. Attorney Alina Habba and her team in working with us to bring this perpetrator to justice.”
In addition to his prison sentence, Athale will serve three years under supervised release and is prohibited from contacting any victims involved in his offenses.
U.S. Attorney Alina Habba credited the FBI Philadelphia Field Office special agents for their investigation under Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs's direction.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara A. Aliabadi and Jason M. Richardson from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden, New Jersey with support from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Defense Counsel was AFPD Maggie Moy.
