Maurice Diggins (left) and Dusty Leo (right). Photo: York County Jail
Two white men who were sentenced for breaking a Black man's jaw in a racially-motivated attack have been ordered to pay $1.25 million in damages to the victim. News Center Maine learned a Superior Court judge issued a default judgment against Maurice Diggins and his nephew, Dusty Leo, both of Biddeford, Maine, earlier this month.
Diggins and Leo are currently in federal custody for the brutal attack on Daimon McCollum in April 2018. Allyson Knowles, who represents McCollum, said the massive award "demonstrates that this kind of conduct is abhorrent and won't be tolerated."
McCollum walked to a convenience store in Biddeford after his family finished celebrating one of the kids scored a college scholarship. That was when Diggins and Leo started taunting the Black man and belting racial slurs from their vehicle, according to reporters.
Diggins even circled McCollum to prevent him from going inside the store while Leo walked up and punched McCollum in the jaw, Knowles explained. McCollum fled, but the duo reportedly followed him back to his home. The lawyer said her client moved away from Biddeford following the racist encounter.
Diggins, who had tattoos of swastikas and the initials "WPWW" meaning "White Pride World Wide," was convicted on two counts of committing a hate crime and one count of conspiracy. He's serving a 10-year federal prison sentence. According to WGME, Diggins attacked another Black man in Portland and broke his jaw in the same month he accosted McCollum. He's also the first person to be sentenced for a federal hate crime in Maine.
Leo pleaded guilty to his crimes and was handed a three-year prison sentence. Officials said he's residing at a halfway house and is due to be released this week.
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