A Michigan man who attacked a Black postal worker with a knife while yelling slurs at her because he was furious about receiving Kamala Harris ads in his mail has been convicted of assault.
Jurors deliberated for about two hours on Friday before finding 62-year-old Russell Frank Valleau guilty of assaulting a federal employee. He was acquitted of using a dangerous weapon in the assault.
The incident happened last October when the postal worker was delivering mail to Valleau’s home in Farmington Hills.
Valleau, who was intoxicated, approached the victim’s vehicle and began yelling racist, sexual and derogatory remarks about Harris and the postal worker herself because of the political ads that were in his mail, according to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.
Valleau told the mail carrier that he did not want that “black b****” in his mailbox and then called her a “black b****,” Fox2Detroit reported.
That’s when Valleau pulled a knife out and lunged at the postal worker, who pepper sprayed him in the face, police said. Valleau fled the scene and was later arrested in a neighbor’s yard.
While in custody, he continued his tirade, referring to the postal worker as a “f***ing smelly n*****.” He was warned about his language to which he responded to the police, “Oh, you like n*****s.”
The attack happened just weeks before the election, which the former Vice President ended up losing to Donald Trump.
“In this highly charged political moment, everyone has a right to their political opinion and vote,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said at the time.
“Whatever our political beliefs, no one should be assaulted or threatened because of their race, or for doing their job. Hate crimes impact all of us, and we will vigorously pursue all such cases.”
Valleau was convicted following a three-day jury trial.
The jury also unanimously found that Valleau intentionally selected the postal worker for his attack because of her actual or perceived race or color, Fox2 reported.
“A letter carrier was simply trying to do her job, and this defendant physically attacked her while using racist and offensive language,” Acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck said in a statement following the verdict.
“This type of behavior has no place in our community and will not be tolerated.”
Valleau is set to be sentenced on May 27. He faces up to 12 months in prison.
