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Utah Man Hit With Hate Crime for Shooting Up Salt Lake City Synagogue

A 21-year-old Utah man was indicted on federal hate crimes charges for firing shots at a Salt Lake City synagogue last year.

Image by kol ami

Macon Michael Openshaw of Salt Lake City was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court there for allegedly firing several rounds from a handgun, breaking windows and damaging a window frame at the Kol Ami synagogue sometime between January and April 2012, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

A search of Openshaw’s home revealed the Walther .22 caliber handgun, according to the newspaper, as well as a sawed-off SKS automatic rifle.

In 2011, Openshaw pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of a deadly weapon. The following year he pleaded guilty to assaulting his 65-year-old grandmother.

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