EUGENE – A Springfield man was sentenced federal prison on March 3 for a federal hate crime after assaulting a victim on the basis of their sexual orientation. Daniel Andrew McGee, 26, was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“Hate crimes impact not just individuals, but entire communities,” said acting-FBI Portland Special Agent in Charge Matt Torres. “The FBI works together with our partners to prevent hate crimes from impacting our communities, and every attack on someone because of who and what they are deserves to be acted on by the full extent of the law.”
According to court documents, on the evening of July 5, 2021, McGee met the victim at the victim’s apartment after communicating on the dating application Grindr, an application originally designed for, and primarily used by, gay men. McGee assaulted the victim over the course of several minutes, striking the victim on the head with a wooden tire thumper and using his hands to try to gouge out the victim’s eyes. The victim sustained life-threatening injuries during the assault, including serious head wounds.
The investigation revealed McGee had been researching and planning the attack for weeks. For at least one month prior to the attack, McGee searched the internet for homophobic and graphically violent anti-gay material. McGee planned for the attack by purchasing the weapon and other materials online and searching the internet for suggestions on how to get away with murder.
On Nov. 18, 2021, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a one-count indictment charging McGee with a federal hate crime involving an attempt to kill.
On Nov. 25, 2025, McGee pleaded guilty to count one of the Indictment.
