28-year-old Christian Joel Young has been charged with one count of felony burglary and two counts of misdemeanor assault after allegedly punching a U.S. congressman at a party during the Sundance Film Festival in the earliest hours of Saturday, Jan. 24.
The charges, filed Tuesday in Summit County’s 3rd District Court, are subject to harsher penalties at sentencing because Young’s alleged assaults were racially motivated.
Young, a Centerville resident, was arrested at Park City’s High West Saloon shortly after midnight Saturday.
The bar was hosting a private Sundance-related event at the time of the alleged assaults. Young had been denied entry earlier in the night, and security staff told police he must have jumped the fence.
He allegedly approached Democratic Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost and his female friend and began talking to them. Frost is Black and Latino and his friend is Black.
According to charging documents, Young made comments about their race, put his arms around their necks and said, “We are going to deport you and your kind.”
Then he yelled a racial slur and punched Frost in the face. He also pushed the woman into the bar while yelling that she was going to be deported.
Young is being held without bail in the Summit County Jail.
Under Utah guidelines for hate crime enhancements, each assault charge could be treated as a third-degree felony at sentencing. That means each of Young’s charges could carry a penalty of up to five years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.
He made an initial appearance in court Tuesday afternoon and will have a detention hearing Feb. 6.
