Man charged with hate crime for threatening person at East Bay BART station: DA

(KRON) — A man stands accused of committing a hate crime for allegedly threatening a person with a knife on a BART station platform in the East Bay while shouting “go back to your country,” Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson’s office announced Monday.

The man, 45-year-old Michael Eugene Sprague allegedly threatened the waiting BART rider on July 10 while brandishing a knife in a “rude, angry, or threatening manner,” the DA’s office said.

“The complaint contains a hate crime enhancement, which alleges that Mr. Sprague committed the alleged crime because of the victim’s actual characteristics and perceived characteristics with respect to race and ethnicity,” the DA’s office said.

Sprague is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. on July 15 at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.