‘This Is An Easy One' — Court Upholds Civil Rights Law, Conviction In Attack

By Livia Caputo, Florida Phoenix

September 26, 2025

A Florida man who screamed racial slurs at a Black military officer while attempting to drive him off the road was rightfully sentenced, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

It was an “easy” decision to deny defendant Jordan Leahy’s request to strike down a Civil Rights-era federal law protecting Americans from abuse because of their race, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit’s three-judge panel decided.

They agreed with a U.S. district court that convicted Leahy in 2022 of willfully intimidating and interfering with a Black man, identified as J.T., and attempting to injure, intimidate and interfere with J.T. through the use of a dangerous weapon because he is Black and was traveling on a public roadway.

“We must consider whether Congress rationally determined that violent interference with the use of a public road because of race constitutes a badge or incident of slavery,” wrote Judge Robin Rosenbaum in the majority opinion.

“This is an easy one. We hold that Congress did.”

Rosenbaum, an Obama appointee, referred to the 1968 law making it a federal crime for anyone purposely attempting to harm someone enjoying state or locally-run facilities because of their race. The statute grew from the 13th Amendment’s provision allowing Congress to make laws to enforce the amendment, which banned slavery.

Leahy, who is white, claimed the law was unconstitutional because Congress “exceeded” its power. One of his arguments cited mid-Civil War cases referencing a “master’s will” that paved the path for the Jim Crow era.

“Leahy’s proposed alternative is a doctrinal framework that is a relic of Jim Crow, and … would dramatically shrink the authority the Framers gave to Congress,” Rosenbaum wrote.

Around 10 p.m. on a Sunday night in August 2021, J.T., a Black man who worked as a military training officer, a personal trainer and a fight coach, was driving his girlfriend and four-year-old daughter from a Palm Harbor birthday dinner to his girlfriend’s apartment in Seminole.

That’s when Leahy, then 28, pulled onto the near-empty Starkey Road and began “incessantly screaming” racial slurs at J.T., the opinion says. He chased J.T.’s car, repeatedly trying to run him off the road, before finally sideswiping the passenger side of his car. Leahy then pulled in front of J.T., where he stopped at a red light.

This is when J.T. attempted to take a photo of Leahy’s license plate to call the police, when Leahy exited the car and began to approach J.T.

“J.T. realized that Leahy was coming after him. Concerned for the safety of his daughter and girlfriend, J.T. got out of his car to draw Leahy and any guns he might be carrying away from them,” the court opinion reads. “He told his girlfriend to lock the doors and call the police.”

Leahy began “swinging” at J.T., who dodged the attacks, hit the defendant twice, then put Leahy in a chokehold, knocking him out. Court documents say that Leahy, smelling of alcohol, woke up once to vomit.

Leahy told police officers that J.T. was the one who attacked him for “no reason,” and launched a string of racist remarks.

“[T]hese guys [Black people] are animals, you know what I’m saying? Y’all have to maintain these people, keep them in their — in their areas,” he said, claiming he was the victim of a hate crime because he’s white.

Once he realized police didn’t believe him, Leahy said: “That’s crazy. Man that, what happened to America bro? Y’all let the f— mother f— from the ghetto beat up on the white suburban kid.”

Officers arrested Leahy at the scene.

In November 2022, he was sentenced in the Middle District of Florida to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

The Florida Phoenix, a nonprofit news site that’s free of advertising and free to readers, covers state government and politics through a mix of in-depth stories, briefs, and social media updates on the latest events, editorial cartoons, and progressive commentary. The Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.