AUSTIN, Texas — A man accused of attacking a group of people on West Campus won't face any hate crime charges.
Bert James Baker was accused of calling a group a racial slur before stabbing a Palestinian American in February following a "free Palestine" rally.
On Tuesday, the Travis County District Attorney's Office said a grand jury did not make a hate crime finding in the alleged attack. The grand jury did, however, return an indictment on Baker for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
“We know that many religious communities in Travis County and across the country are deeply concerned about a rise in hate crime reports and that many were hoping for the grand jury to reach a different conclusion in this case,” Travis County District Attorney José Garza said. “Our office takes the hate crime referrals we receive from our law enforcement partners incredibly seriously. We remain steadfast in our commitment to prosecute these cases and ensure that those who commit hate crimes in Travis County are held accountable.”
What happened?
On Feb. 4, Austin police said Zacharia Doar was in a pickup truck with other people when someone felt the tailgate open. Witnesses said they saw Baker on a bicycle pull open the rear right passenger door and the front right passenger door before putting his bicycle down in front of the truck.
“Baker repeatedly screamed the N-word and other obscenities, opened a passenger door, pulled one of the victims out of the car and physically attacked him," said Mustafaa Carroll, the interim executive director for the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Baker fell to the ground following a fight but then got back up. Multiple punches were thrown, which led to Baker on the ground again. A witness then said Baker pulled out a knife and started running towards them. When the witness turned around, he saw Doar bleeding from his ribs, according to court documents.
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Doar said Baker likely saw the Palestinian scarf hanging on the truck, which made them a target. He also said the confrontation only lasted about 45 seconds.
"He knew what he was doing. He knew what his intentions were when he pulled out that knife," Doar said. "He swung it around … He wanted to kill."
At the time, Austin police said that the attack did meet the definition of a hate crime.
Meanwhile, Baker remains in jail on a $100,000 bond.