Wisconsin man charged with hate crime for intentionally killing motorcyclist out of anger at Trump

A Wisconsin man was charged with a hate crime for intentionally hitting a motorcyclist because he's angry about President Donald Trump.

Daniel Navarro swerved his truck into a motorcycle driven by 55-year-old Philip Thiessen, who died at the scene, and police said the crash was intentional and racially motivated, reported WGBA-TV.

"Navarro stated that if Trump and white people are going to create a world like we are living in, then he has no choice and people are going to have to die," the criminal complaint says.

Investigators said the 27-year-old Navarro told them he specifically targeted a white motorcyclist because he believes Harley-Davidson culture is racist, and he did not target a car because "he wanted the person to die and not be paralyzed."

The crash happened July 3 in Taycheedah.

Navarros also told investigators that unspecified people were poisoning him because he's Mexican, and his parents told authorities he watched a lot of TV news and YouTube videos and never socialized.

Police previously had tried to place a mental health hold on Navarro following a 2019 domestic violence incident, but the request was denied.

He told police after the crash that he hoped to be sent to prison so his parents would no longer have to take care of him.

Navarro was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and both charges have hate crime modifiers attached to them and modifiers for using his vehicle as a dangerous weapon.

Thiessen was a former Marine, police officer, Division of Criminal Investigation special agent and a frequent food pantry volunteer, authorities said.