U.S. to Retry Man in Hate E-Mail Case

Saying the case has national importance, federal prosecutors have decided to retry a former UC Irvine student on charges of sending e-mail threatening to “hunt down and kill” Asian students.

Prosecutors disclosed their intention Monday in U.S. District Court when they successfully opposed a bail request by 20-year-old Richard Machado of Los Angeles, the first person in the nation to be tried on charges of committing a hate crime via the Internet. In November, a jury deadlocked 9 to 3 in favor of acquittal.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Gennaco, who heads the civil rights section of the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, said outside court that the government wanted to retry Machado because the case was “of national significance, and we expect to see more cases like this one.”

He told Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler that “it is important that there be a resolution.”

Stotler, commenting on the prospects of a second trial, said there was “some question about whether 12 minds will ever come to an agreement on this case.” She urged the prosecutors and defense attorney to discuss “some of the things we’ve alluded to today,” hinting that she would prefer to have the case resolved before the second trial begins on Jan. 27.

Meanwhile, she denied bail, pointing out that Machado had fled to Mexico when he was first charged.

Machado’s attorney, Deputy U.S. Public Defender Sylvia Torres-Guillen, has asked the judge to dismiss the charges. That request is pending.

Machado’s e-mail message, signed “Asian Hater,” warned that all Asians should leave UC Irvine, or the sender would “hunt all of you down” and kill them.

“I personally will make it my [life’s work] to find and kill every one of you personally. OK? That’s how determined I am. Do you hear me?”

During the trial, the prosecution contended that Machado’s threats were not protected speech, but civil rights violations.

By seeking to frighten the 59 mostly Asian students at UC Irvine who received his e-mail threat on Sept. 20, 1996, prosecutors argued, Machado had sought to interfere with their right to attend a public university.

Machado testified that on the day he sent the message, he was bored and wanted to start a “dialogue” with people who were signed on to the school’s computer network.

He told jurors that his brother’s murder in 1995 had left him with an “inability to concentrate” on his studies, causing him to fail classes and to be expelled in the summer of 1996.

He recalled telling campus investigators, who quickly traced the e-mail to him, that he simply wanted to “mess around” and “meant no harm” by the message.

Most of the jurors said they believed that Machado was merely a disturbed teenager who didn’t really intend to harm the students he targeted.

After the trial, even two jurors who voted to convict Machado urged the government to drop the case.

“It appears to me that this kid has serious problems,” said Delrey Tuttle of Westminster, who voted to convict Machado. “I don’t know if it will do any good reprosecuting him.”

Machado’s attorney cited some of the jurors’ comments when she urged the judge Monday to grant her client bail.

“Let’s face it,” Stotler said. “The first jury decided nothing.”