Man sentenced for arson at Seattle LGBTQ nightclub in 2020
Queer Bar (Another Believer // CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)
SEATTLE - A Sedro-Woolley man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for the hate crime arson of a Seattle LGBTQ nightclub in 2020.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced 26-year-old Kalvinn Garcia will serve 48 months behind bars, followed by the three years of supervised release.
On Feb. 24, 2020, Garcia set fire to a dumpster in the alley behind Queer/Bar in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. He was arrested shortly after and told officers it angered him to see a sign that said ‘queer.’ According to court documents, Garcia said to officers, "I think it's wrong that we have a bunch of queers in our society."
"[Garcia] committed an act of violence targeting innocent victims inside Queer/Bar, a known safe space for the LGBTQI+ community," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. "Bias-motivated violence runs contrary to our values and violates our federal civil rights laws. This sentence should send the message that every person in our nation deserves equal protection under the law regardless of who they love or how they identify and that those carrying out similar acts of violence against the LGBTQI+ community will be brought to justice."
Garcia told a stranger he intended to ‘trap and hurt’ people inside by setting the fire. The U.S. Attorney's Office says more than 100 people were inside at the time he set the fire.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man pleads guilty to 2020 hate crime arson at Seattle queer nightclub
"Mr. Garcia admitted to setting the fire in an effort to hurt people based on his own bias," said FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge Richard A. Collodi. "No person in the United States should fear for their safety based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. I am proud of the continued work of the FBI and our partners in protecting the civil rights of all people."