A man from Springfield, Oregon, has been sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for a hate crime after assaulting a victim based on their sexual orientation.
Daniel Andrew McGee, 26, received a sentence of 151 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“The right to live safely in one’s community is a fundamental civil right. The District of Oregon remains committed to combatting hate crimes and protecting that right for all,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott E. Bradford. “While no conviction can undo the harm caused, we hope this sentence will bring some measure of justice to the victim and our community.”
“Hate crimes impact not just individuals, but entire communities,” said Acting FBI Portland Special Agent in Charge Matt Torres. “The FBI works together with our partners to prevent hate crimes from impacting our communities, and every attack on someone because of who and what they are deserves to be acted on by the full extent of the law.”
According to court documents, McGee met his victim at the victim’s apartment after connecting through Grindr, an application primarily used by gay men. He assaulted the victim over several minutes using a wooden tire thumper and attempted to gouge out the victim’s eyes with his hands. The attack resulted in life-threatening injuries, including serious head wounds.
Investigators found that McGee had planned the attack for weeks before it occurred on July 5, 2021. For at least a month prior, he searched online for homophobic and violent anti-gay content and purchased materials related to the attack from Amazon. He also looked up information online about how to avoid being caught after committing murder.
On November 18, 2021, a federal grand jury indicted McGee on one count involving an attempt to kill as part of a federal hate crime charge. He pleaded guilty on November 25, 2025.
The case was investigated by the FBI with help from Eugene Police Department. Joseph Huynh, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, along with Tenette Smith from the Civil Rights Division Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
Scott Bradford previously held positions such as Chief of the White Collar Unit and Acting Chief of Counterintelligence and Export Control Section within his office (official website). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Oregon conducts outreach programs across Oregon aimed at fighting crime and safeguarding rights (official website). With offices located in Portland, Eugene, and Medford (official website), this office is one among 93 under the U.S. Department of Justice nationwide (official website). It employs over one hundred staff members (official website) and aims to represent both civil and criminal matters while fostering trust in federal judicial processes (official website).
