West Allis Man Gets Prison After Racist Threats Against Neighbors: DOJ

WEST ALLIS, WI — A Wisconsin man was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison on Thursday after he left intimidating notes and slashed car tires in an effort to interfere with Black residents of his West Allis apartment complex, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

William McDonald, 45, pleaded guilty in March to a felony count of intimidating and interfering with residents because of their race, the U.S. Attorney's office said. Court records said he admitted to slashing a Black woman's vehicle in 2021 and leaving a note filled with racist slurs and violent threats, according to the U.S. Attorney. An initial criminal complaint outlined other incidents between 2021 and 2022 where racist, threatening notes were left.

Multiple victims within a mile of McDonal's apartment had found notes on their cars littered with racist slurs and threats alongside demands to leave, the criminal complaint said. A family who moved into McDonald's apartment complex in April 2021 was driven away by racist notes and vandalism at their front door, which police and the FBI later tracked to McDonald through video surveillance, according to a criminal complaint.

Four victims told the FBI they moved away from West Allis solely because of the racist notes they found, the complaint says.

In March 2021, after smashing a woman's windshield and threatening to slash her throat in a note, McDonald left another note for a woman giving an ultimatum to "move out of the neighborhood or suffer violence," the U.S. Attorney's office said.

“Every person in the United States has the right to live in their homes and neighborhoods free from the threat of violence based on race,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a news release. “The Justice Department will vigorously enforce federal laws that protect all residents against race-based threats like those made by this defendant. This sentence should send a strong message to others who would carry out racially motivated threats and acts of violence that they will be brought to justice.”

The sentencing and arrest come after an investigation by West Allis Police and the FBI.

“The 30-month sentence of William McDonald is a direct outcome of the unrelenting efforts and dedication of federal and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors to protect the rights of every Wisconsin citizen to live in a safe and protected environment free from race-based violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Hensle of the FBI Milwaukee Field Office. “Additionally, the Milwaukee Field Office of the FBI along with all its law enforcement partners are unwavering in their joint commitment to combat any and all crimes and discrimination based on race and ethnicity with the goal to make Wisconsin a safer and more inclusive community for everyone.”

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