Arlington Man Gets 5 Years For Hate Crimes: DOJ

ARLINGTON, VA — An Arlington man has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for committing a hate crime by threatening employees of the Arab-American Institute, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

William Patrick Syring, 61, was accused of threatening employees of AAI "because of their race and national origin," as well as because of their efforts to encourage Arab-Americans to participate in political and civic life in the United States, the statement reads.

From 2012 to 2017, Syring sent more than 700 emails to AAI employees, including five death threats in 2017, DOJ says. He had pleaded guilty in 2008 to sending threatening emails to employees at the organization.

AAI employees said they lived in fear that Syring would follow through on his threats, and that it took a toll on them and their families, the statement adds.

Syring was convicted on May 9 on all 14 counts -- seven hate crime charges and seven interstate threats charges.

“Threats aimed to intimidate individuals based on their ethnic or racial origin are despicable violations of civil rights freedoms protected by our constitution,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband in the statement. “The Department of Justice will continue to fight to preserve the basic rights of people to live, work, and speak in their communities without the fear of hostility based on racism.”