Oregon man charged with federal hate crime in attack of gay man

by Sarakshi Rai - 11/16/21 1:36 PM ET

The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that an Oregon man has been charged with a federal hate crime after brutally assaulting a gay man because of his sexual orientation.

Daniel Andrew McGee, 22, was arrested by the FBI on Monday.

McGee met the man he assaulted via social media and networking app Grindr. The Justice Department statement details how he entered the man’s apartment on Jul 5 and assaulted him with “a wooden club over a period of several minutes,” alleging that McGee tried to kill the man.

The filing added that “despite the victim’s pleas for McGee to stop, McGee continued striking the man repeatedly in the head with the club. The victim sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital.”

The man suffered multiple cuts to the sides and back of his head, and a large section of his scalp was missing, FBI agent Spencer Anderson wrote in the federal complaint, according to The Oregonian.

The complaint also says McGee went to the stranger’s apartment “because he knew that demons would be there and that his nightmares told him he needed to kill the man,” per The Oregonian.

McGee’s father told police that his son has autism and that he wasn’t aware that McGee had left their house that night, the report added.

The FBI complaint also said that the victim found a bag McGee had left at his apartment. Inside the bag were a kitchen knife, a folding knife, a bottle of Comet cleaner, a portable vacuum and a large roll of trash bags, The Oregonian added.

The Justice Department said its investigation revealed that McGee used the internet “to search for and view graphically violent anti-gay material, including videos of anti-gay attacks,” as well to buy weapon and other materials.

He also searched the internet for “how to get away with murder and how murderers avoid getting caught.”

McGee made an initial appearance in federal court before a U.S. magistrate judge after his arrest on Tuesday and was detained pending further court proceedings.

Tags anti-gay assault Oregon