Utah man accused of saying ‘I’m here to kill a Mexican’ before attack won’t face hate crime charges

A man who is accused of attacking a Latino father and son after saying that he wanted to “kill a Mexican” is not being charged with a hate crime, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. 

Alan Dale Covington, 50, does face two felony accounts of aggravated assault in addition to weapons and drug charges, according to the newspaper.

{mosads}Covington was arrested last week after allegedly threatening and attacking a son and father at a mechanic shop in Salt Lake City. Covington is accused of yelling “I hate Mexicans” and “I’m here to kill a Mexican” before attacking the pair.

He also allegedly asked if the 18-year-old Luis Gustavo Lopez and his father, Jose Lopez, were “part of the Mexican mafia.”

Covington is accused of physically attacking the two men, knocking the younger man unconscious and hitting the father.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told The Salt Lake Tribune that charging Covington with a hate crime would not have been possible.

“Although we want to pat ourselves on the back and say we have a hate crime statute, it’s really not enforceable,” Gill said. 

Veronica Lopez, the daughter of Jose and brother of Luis, told the newspaper that she is “extremely disappointed” that Covington wasn’t charged with a hate crime.

“It makes my blood boil,” she said. “What do they want next? Do they want him to kill someone to see that he’s dangerous?”