Jaxton Tayte Collins, a 21-year-old from Montana, had been out drinking at a bar in downtown Helena before he allegedly shoved a man of South Asian descent and told him to "go back to his country."
uncertain
he → drink → country
Those comments, along with an alleged shove, could land him in jail for up to five years.
uncertain
comments → allege → years
According to reporting from the Billings Gazette, "the complainant told officers he was walking with friends when a man in an orange shirt and wearing a large cross necklace approached his friend, who is of Indian descent and wears a head covering."
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who → accord → covering
The man in the orange shirt, later identified as Collins, "allegedly shoved the friend with both hands and "told him to go back to his country."
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man → identify → country
Witnesses characterized the August 7th incident as "an attack," and called it "frightening."
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Witnesses → characterize → it
Officers then arrived on the scene and located Collins nearby.
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Officers → arrive → Collins
He told cops that he had been at a bar drinking and told the victim to go back to his own country "because he was angry."
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he → tell → country
However, he denied pushing him.
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he → deny → him
On Tuesday, Collins was arraigned on one count of misdemeanor assault and one felony charge of malicious intimidation or harassment of civil or human rights.
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Collins → arraign → rights
Under Montana law, malicious intimidation or harassment occurs when a person "purposely or knowingly, with the intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy, or offend" causes bodily injury, "reasonable apprehension of bodily injury," or damages property because of another person's "race, creed, religion, color, national origin, or involvement in civil rights or human rights activities."
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person → occur → rights
Collins pleaded not guilty on both counts.
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Collins → plead → counts
It's certainly plausible that Collins' actions could fall under these criteria.
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actions → fall → criteria
But the question that will likely decide Collins' fate pertains to the alleged shove.
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that → decide → shove
In a statement to Reason, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) says, "The First Amendment protects even the most offensive and hateful speech.
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Amendment → say → speech
At the same time, it does not give a free pass to commit assault."
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it → give → assault
In Wisconsin v. Mitchell (1993), the Supreme Court upheld an enhanced sentence for a black man who urged his friends to attack a white teenager because of his race, ruling that states can impose harsher penalties for crimes motivated by bias—including racial, religious, and cultural bias—and that someone's words can serve as evidence of that motive.
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words → uphold → motive
"So if the defendant assaulted someone because of his race or national origin, the First Amendment likely wouldn't shield him from an enhanced penalty," says FIRE.
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FIRE → assault → penalty
Montana's law isn't an outlier, and people have been convicted in other states for less.
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people → convict → less
California, Washington, Michigan, and Illinois all have similar "hate crime" laws that can make it a felony to use force or threaten violence against someone because of their race, religion, or other characteristics.
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it → have → race
In 2019, Reason reported on Timothy Trybus, who was convicted of two felony hate crimes in Chicago after drunkenly harassing a woman who was wearing a shirt with a Puerto Rican flag on it.
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who → report → it
He told her, "You shouldn't be wearing that in America."
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You → tell → America
Tybrus never laid a hand on her, yet his comments upgraded a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge into two felonies.
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comments → lay → felonies
He was sentenced to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
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He → sentence → service
Collins' next hearing is scheduled for April 8, 2027.
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hearing → schedule → April
If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
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he → convict → 5,000
Collins' words that night reflect a condemnable kind of nativism that is fundamentally un-American.
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that → reflect → nativism
But so is punishing someone for the content of their beliefs.
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punishing → punish → beliefs
If Collins did in fact shove the man, that could very well constitute a felony under Montana law.
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that → shove → law
But if he's being prosecuted simply for his words, "that would obviously raise serious First Amendment concerns," says FIRE.
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FIRE → prosecute → concerns
The Aporia
