Oklahoma City man Braden Birdsong, 28, pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime for racially motivated assault on a Black worker; sentencing pending.
Oklahoma City, OK. – Official Release: BRADEN BIRDSONG, 28, of Oklahoma City, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Bernard M. Jones for the Western District of Oklahoma today and pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime violation.
According to filed plea documents and today’s court hearing, on August 25, 2023, Birdsong, a white man, attacked D.G., a black man, while D.G. was cleaning the parking lot of the Oklahoma City restaurant at which he worked. Birdsong used racial slurs and other anti-Black rhetoric as he punched D.G. in the head multiple times. D.G. suffered bodily injury because of the attack. As Birdsong admitted in court today, he assaulted D.G. because of D.G.’s race and color.
Birdsong faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for the hate crime violation. U.S. District Court Judge Jones will determine Birdsong’s final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors at a later date. Birdsong will remain in federal custody pending the future sentencing hearing…