A bad person in dumb hats
A bad person in dumb hats Facebook

John Vangastel, a Klamath Falls racist who pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of "using force or threat of force to intimidate and interfere with housing rights of his neighbors because of their Vietnamese descent," has been sentenced to five years of probation, the court announced announced today.

For the same incident, he also pleaded guilty in June in state court to five counts of stalking.

***Original story: May 19, 2016***

A terrible hat-wearing goateed Klamath Falls man pleaded guilty to being a garbage human being in federal court today. Technically, the charge is "Interference With Housing Rights," but lets not get bogged down with semantics.

We don't normally cover news in Klamath Falls, but John Blayne Vangastel's actions and his hats are particularly egregious.

According to the feds, Vangastel, 37, had recently moved near the home of a Vietnamese-American family, where they had been living for 20 years. In December, he forced his way onto their property, blocked the gate, tried to fight one of the women who lived there, and hurled insults at them. An affidavit filed by the Oregon State Police says the family recorded the incident and that 6'1, 265-pound Vangastel admitted to harassing them.

According to the feds, during the incident, he yelled the following dumb things to them: "You are trash," "You are not even white," "You smell like salmon-fish," "I'll beat you because you are Asian," and "You [expletive] Vietnamese—you don't deserve to live here."

"The incident was the culmination of Vangastel's repeated intimidation of his neighbors, who had lived at their residence for 20 years without incident," a press release says. "As a result of Vangastel's conduct, the family became so fearful that they moved out of their home."

The terrible person is also facing 19 misdemeanor charges in Klamath County: Six intimidation counts, six harassment counts, five stalking counts, disorderly conduct, and criminal trespass.

Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division issued this statement:

Our country guarantees all people the right to live in their homes without fearing violence or intimidation because of their national origin. Threatening force against people because of where they or their relatives come from violates our civil rights laws and offends our values of human dignity, decency and respect. As this conviction shows, the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively and effectively prosecute hate crimes.

Oregon's U.S. Attorney Billy Williams issued this statement:

This case exemplifies the powerfully negative impact of bigotry and xenophobia. It is the moral obligation of every citizen to promote tolerance and diversity in our communities so that no one is subjected to intimidation or assault because of their heritage. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, with our partners at the Civil Rights Division, are dedicated to protecting the civil rights of all Oregonians. We will vigorously investigate and prosecute hate crimes to obtain justice for victims of unlawful discrimination.

EDIT:

Per the guy's Facebook account, he...

advocates the lynching of President Obama...

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... talks about punching women in the face...

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... gives dumb homophobic sports commentary...

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... loves dumb conservative memes...

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... and overshares.

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