Former Proud Boys member extradited to U.S. pleads to misdemeanor after assaulting Palestinian man – CBC.ca

An Ottawa man who was a member of the now disbanded Proud Boys Canada organization has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the U.S. It comes after he wasextradited from Canada to face a chargethat he assaulteda Palestinian man at a protest in Washington, D.C., five years ago, and that the attackwas motivated by hate.

The assault occurred on March 26, 2017, when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee which advocates for a strong relationship between the U.S. and Israel was holding its annual policy conference at a convention centrein downtown Washington.

Rival demonstrations by left-wing Jewish anti-establishment groups and the far-rightJewish Defense League(labelled a terrorist group by the FBI) and its supporters were taking place outside the centre at the time.

Amongthe Jewish Defense League'ssupporters was Brandon Vaughan, then a 22-year-old from Ottawa.

At the time hewas alsoa self-proclaimed member of the Proud Boysa far-right men's organizationlaterlabelled a terrorist entity inCanadaand was active on social mediabefore Proud Boys content was banned from many sites.

Some of the evidence police in Washington collected wasincluded in a2021 factumfiled in Ottawa Superior Court on a motion to have Vaughan placed into custody pending extradition.The factum statesthe victim from Charlotte, N.C.,and his spouse were visiting their daughter, who was studying in Washington, and were dropping her off near the convention centre as demonstrations were ongoing.

The victim heard a woman say Palestine doesn't exist, and in response the victim pointed to himself and said "words to the effect of, 'This is Palestine,'" according to the factum.

Immediately afterward,the man waspushed to the ground and was punched and kicked repeatedly by several peopleas he lay theretryingto protect himself, the factum states. His injuries included a wound near his eye requiring 18 stitches, abrasions, and bruising on his ribs and back.

The victim later identified Vaughan, who was wearing a Jewish Defense League shirt, as one of his attackers, according to the factum.

In April 2018, Vaughan was charged withafelony for his alleged role assault causingsignificant bodily injury while armed and was accused of being motivated by racial hate.

The felony assault charge carriesa statutory maximum of 30 years in prison, and aconvictiononthe hate-crime enhancement would have increasedthe maximum penalty to 1.5 times that amount, or 45 years.

The indictment filed by the grand jury in Washington allegedthe assault demonstrated Vaughan'sprejudice "based on the actual or perceived race, colour, or national origin" of the victim.

AMetropolitan Police Department public incident report filed after the attack listed the assaultas a suspected hate crime, andthe bias as "anti-Arab."

Vaughan, now 27, waived his right to an extradition hearing in Superior Court in Ottawa last monthand was conveyed to the U.S. days later on March 17, according to Canada's Department of Justice.

He had been wanted on a Washington, D.C., Superior Court bench warrant for nearly four years prior to hisextradition, afterfailingto appear in court in 2018 when the charges were laid.

After signing aplea agreement, Vaughan pleaded guilty March 28 to thelesser charge of simple assaulta misdemeanor that carries a statutory maximum of 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

In signing the agreement, Vaughanadmitted he acted voluntarily, on purpose and not by mistake or accident when he pushed to the ground and assaulted the victim after hehad identified himself as Palestinian.

Vaughan was sentenced by Judge Sean C. Staples to time already served,according toBill Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Vaughanhad been in custody in Canada for about two months prior to his extradition.

Three others, including a Toronto man, earlier pleaded guilty to simple assault for their roles in the attack:Jesse Vorona, Yosef Steynovitzof Toronto,andRami Lubranicki.

Vorona, like Vaughan, was sentenced to time served. Steynovitz and Lubranicki were placed on probation, Miller wrote in an email.

The extradition and plea cameafter Vaughan pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice to possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and received a conditional discharge in May 2021. The charge stemmed from an unrelated incident in July 2020.

Chargesof assault and failing to appear to be fingerprintedwerewithdrawn.

Vaughan was sentenced to 12 months of probation and was fined a victim surcharge of $100.

He was also ordered to complete anger management classes,not contact or be anywhere near the alleged victim of the withdrawn assault charge, and not possess any weapons.

In 2014, charges of mischief under $5,000 and failing to appear in court on the mischief countwerewithdrawn.

Attempts to reach Vaughan for comment were unsuccessful.

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Former Proud Boys member extradited to U.S. pleads to misdemeanor after assaulting Palestinian man - CBC.ca