Amazon Assault

RICHMOND, Va. – The Fourth Circuit denied a petition for rehearing en banc of a case relating to the prosecution of a man who punched his gay co-worker at an Amazon distribution facility, finding that the issues are of “significant national importance” and “best considered by the Supreme Court.”

The prosecution was the first in the country to rely an a jurisdictional element in the federal hate crimes law, which requires proof that the assault interfered with “commercial or other economic activity in which the victim [was] engaged at the time of the conduct.”