FBI takes over investigation of alleged assault on Burien Mayor Jimmy Matta

Photo from The B-Town Blog’s live video of Matta’s press conference.[/caption] The Seattle Times is reporting that the investigation into the alleged ‘hate crime’ assault last month of Burien Mayor Jimmy Matta is now being handled by the FBI. The assault, which Matta says happened at the Olde Burien Block Party on July 21, was first being investigated by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, then the state Attorney General’s Office. Matta reported that while he was at the party – ironically while King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s band The Approximations was playing – a 62-year old man grabbed him from behind, put him into a headlock and scratched his arm on a fence as he pulled him down, all while whispering threats into his ear like “We’re not going to let you Latino illegals take over our city.” The suspect later turned himself into police, but his identity has not yet been released. Police recommended that a felony malicious-harassment charge be filed against him (this is the state’s hate-crime statute). Read the Times’ full story here. Here’s our raw video of Matta’s July 23 press conference, where he describes the incident: ]]>