OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Braden Birdsong, 28, of Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to a federal hate crime for attacking a Black man while using racial slurs.
According to court records and statements made during the hearing, the assault occurred on August 25, 2023, while the victim, identified as D.G., was cleaning the parking lot of the restaurant where he worked. Birdsong, a white man, approached and repeatedly punched D.G. in the head while yelling racial slurs and anti-Black rhetoric. The victim sustained bodily injuries as a result of the assault.
Birdsong admitted in court that he committed the attack because of D.G.’s race and color.
Birdsong faces up to 10 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones will determine the final sentence at a later date. Birdsong remains in federal custody pending sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office.
Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Barry of the Western District of Oklahoma and Trial Attorneys Laura Gilson and Taylor Payne of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
