Man Yelled About Killing Mexicans; Faces Hate Crime Charges: Feds

A man is facing federal hate crime charges after authorities say he yelled that he wanted to "kill mexicans" and attacked two Mexican men inside a Salt Lake City tire shop and attempted to attack a third man, according to an indictment on Wednesday.

The indictment charges Alan Covington, 50, with three counts of hate crimes. The indictment says Covington "willfully caused bodily injury" to two men because he believed they were Mexican and struck them with a metal pole, hitting one man in the head.

The indictment says Covington also swung a metal pole at a third man inside the business and attempted to harm him.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the two men attacked inside the tire shop were father and son.

The Tribune reported that the man was swinging a five-foot pole and knocked the son unconscious and began to beat him in the November attack. The father was hit in the arm and back, according to the Tribune.

The 18-year-old son had to have a titanium plate implanted as the attack shattered his cheekbone, according to the Tribune. The father, an immigrant from Mexico, needed eight stitches in his arm and suffered a bruised back.

Local authorities in Utah charged the man with two felony counts of aggravated assault but he did not face hate crime charges because officials were unable to enforce a state hate crime statute, according to the Tribune.