White Man Who Defaced A Predominantly Black Church Faces 12 Months In A Predominantly Black Prison System

A white man in Michigan was sentenced to one year for vandalizing a Black church with hate speech.

A white man in Michigan has been sentenced March 19 to 12 months in prison for defacing a predominantly Black church in Macomb County.

David Bluer, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of damaging religious property, WOOD TV reports, and is currently housed at FCI Milan, a federal prison in York Township, Michigan. Thanks to the impact of mass incarceration against Black Americans, 34.8% of Black people make up the federal incarceration roll.

As part of the plea, Bluer admitted to spray painting several swastikas, the word ‘die,’ and other graffiti on the Greater New Life Church in Roseville in October 2021 “because of the race and color of individuals associated with the church,” a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said.

He also wrote “David kills N——” on a bathroom at Trombly Park in Warren. In addition to his 12-month prison sentence, Bluer was sentenced to one year of supervised release.

“The defendant’s attack, motivated by race and color, instilled fear in not only the mostly Black congregants of the church but damaged the entire community’s sense of safety,” Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck said in a statement. “Our office will always vigorously prosecute those who commit unlawful bias-motivated acts and seek justice for the victims.”

During the attack, Bluer, assisted by two accomplices he had recruited, spray-painted swastikas on the church. He directed his accomplices, one of whom was a juvenile, to also paint their initials and swastikas on the church.

Bluer and his accomplices then vandalized the bathroom at Trombly Park, spray-painting swastikas, a racial slur, and other symbols, in addition to the aforementioned phrase. In March, federal prosecutors stated that Bluer targeted the park because Black people used the facility.

“Such bias-motivated acts of hate devastate not only their direct victims but also entire communities by instilling fear in members of a protected class that they, too, could be targeted because of the color of their skin, their religion, or another protected characteristic,” prosecutors wrote. “The unique and wide-reaching harm of bias-motivated crimes such as this one warrant meaningful punishment.”