Oregon Man Faces Life in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Federal Anti Gay Hate Crime

Twenty-six-year-old Daniel Andrew McGee of Springfield, who spent at least one month researching and planning an attack on a gay man, appeared before a U.S. District Court yesterday, charged with one count of a Hate Crime Act involving an attempt to kill.

McGee, who pleaded guilty, now faces life imprisonment, the maximum sentence that can be imposed in a federal hate crime.

He Searched the Internet For Violent Anti-Gay Material

An investigation by the FBI and the Eugene Police Department discovered that McGee had been planning the attack for weeks. They found evidence of internet searches for homophobic and graphically violent anti-gay material. He had also searched for suggestions on how to get away with murder.

According to court documents, McGee bought a wooden tire thumper and other materials from Amazon.

He went to the victim’s apartment on July 5, 2021, after ‘meeting’ on the gay men’s dating app, Grindr. McGee attacked the victim with the tire thumper, which he used to repeatedly strike the man on his head. The victim sustained life-threatening head injuries during the attack.

McGee was indicted on November 18, 2021, by a federal grand jury in Eugene, charging McGee with a Hate Crime Act, Involving an attempt to kill. Apart from a maximum life imprisonment sentence, McGee also faces a maximum fine of $250,000 and five years of supervised release. He has agreed to pay restitution to the victim as part of a plea agreement.

He will be sentenced on March 3, 2026, before a U.S. District Court Judge.