A man from North Carolina could face years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of hate crimes on Wednesday. 

Marian Hudak, 52, attacked a Black man and a Hispanic man in separate incidents in 2021 and 2022, prosecutors said. He used racist slurs during both attacks, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 


What You Need To Know

  •  A jury convicted Marian Hudak, 52, of federal hate crimes Wednesday after a trial in Greensboro

  •  The Concord, North Carolina, man was accused of two separate attacks

  •  Prosecutors say he used racial slurs during both attacks and was known to harass Black and Hispanic drivers in Concord

  • Hudak could face years in prison when he's sentenced on May 1

“No one should be afraid to drive down the street, fill their car with gas or take their children to the bus stop because of someone’s intolerance and racial hatred. The FBI hopes this guilty verdict can give Mr. Hudak's victims some sense of peace," Charlotte FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert DeWitt said in a news release.

On Nov. 27, 2021, prosecutors said Hudak attacked a Hispanic neighbor, shouting racist insults before punching and tackling him. Witnesses said Hudak made "frequent anti-Hispanic comments, both before and after the attack."

On Oct. 13, 2022, Hudak shouted racial slurs at a Black man, identified by the initials J.S., while driving in Corcord, North Carolina, prosecutors said. 

"After telling J.S. to 'come here, boy,' Hudak swerved into J.S.’s lane, got out of his vehicle and punched J.S.’s driver’s side window multiple times. When J.S. fled, Hudak chased him to his home where he continued shouting racial slurs and threatened to shoot and kill him," the DOJ said.

There were other incidents where "where Hudak shouted slurs at, gave the middle finger to and drove aggressively near other minority motorists in the Concord area," according the the DOJ.

Investigators said they found "a KKK flag, a racist publication and Nazi memorabilia" in Hudak's home. He was known for driving around Concord with Confederate and pro-Trump flags flying from his pickup truck.

Federal prosecutors charged Hudak with hate crimes on June 26, 2023.

“It’s one thing to use racial slurs and harbor the KKK’s flag, but carrying out acts of violence fueled by naked racial animus and hatred violates the law and core principles of our democracy. The defendant was held accountable for his violent and unlawful attacks on Black and Hispanic members of his community,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“The Justice Department will vigorously investigate and prosecute violence targeting people because of their race or national origin. All community members should be able to live in and move about their neighborhoods without fear of attack because of how they look or where they are from," she said.

Hudak’s sentencing is set for May 1.