SAN DIEGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Southern), published as received.

SAN DIEGO – An indictment unsealed in federal court today charges two alleged white supremacists from Riverside County with hate crimes in connection with racially-motivated attacks on two U.S. Marines and a third man at the Oceanside pier in June 2025.

Austin Yohe and Daniel Burns are also charged with obstruction of justice for lying to Riverside court personnel, local law enforcement officers in Oceanside, and FBI agents about their roles in the assault.  The FBI arrested Yohe yesterday afternoon in Riverside, California.  At approximately the same time, Burns was taken into custody at an associate’s home in Wilsonville, Alabama.   

The third defendant, Johnny Lee Lane, pleaded guilty today to three federal hate crimes offenses—one for each of the victims. Lane admitted he participated in the attacks on the three victims along with Yohe and Burns, and that the assaults were racially motivated.

The indictment identifies the victim of the first attack as T.L.W., a 21-year-old Black and Asian American man, and the victims of the second attack as two U.S. Marines, T.J. and E.H., a 24-year-old black man and a 23-year-old white man, respectively. 

The indictment alleges that Yohe and Burns both claim membership in the group COORS 88, which espouses white supremacy, and that Burns has a tattoo on his arm that reads, “skinhead.” Lane, charged separately in an information, is referred to in the indictment by the initials J.L. 

According to the indictment, on June 7, 2025, Yohe, Burns, and Lane drove to Oceanside and went to the beach near the Oceanside Pier. At approximately 8:30 p.m., after attending a family funeral earlier that day, T.L.W. and his wife were sitting on a bench north of the Oceanside Pier and next to a concrete building that had restrooms and outdoor showers when Yohe and Burns approached, identified themselves as “skinheads,” and attacked T.L.W. without provocation. 

The indictment alleges that Yohe and Burns punched T.L.W. multiple times, kicked and stomped on him, and slammed his head into the concrete wall of the building.  As T.L.W. crawled away and back onto the sand, Lane approached, yelled “Get that n****r!,” and kicked and stomped on T.L.W.  As a result of the attack, T.L.W. was hospitalized and suffered serious injuries to his upper body, including a concussion, swelling on his head, and cuts and bruises.

According to the indictment, after they finished assaulting T.L.W., Yohe, Burns and Lane walked southbound to the plaza near the Oceanside Pier. The two Marines, T.J. and E.H., were standing in the plaza eating funnel cake while they waited to get a table at a nearby restaurant.  As they walked through the plaza and proceeded up the stairs, Yohe, Burns, and/or Lane yelled racial slurs, including n****r, at T.J. and E.H., who stood there and did not follow the defendants or make any gestures towards them. 

About one to two minutes later, the indictment said, Yohe and Burns came back down the stairs with Lane following. Yohe walked up to E.H. and, without provocation, punched him forcefully in the face. Moments later, Burns approached T.J. and, without provocation, punched him forcefully in the head.  Even then, T.J. and E.H. did not immediately fight back, and instead, they stepped backwards and tried to de-escalate the encounter. 

Undeterred, Yohe and Burns lunged forward and continued assaulting T.J. and E.H., which included punching, grabbing, tackling, and kicking the Marines. The indictment alleges that Lane then joined the continuing assault, struck both T.J. and E.H., and kicked E.H. multiple times in or near his head while E.H. was on the ground trying to fight off Yohe. 

During the attack, one of the defendants yelled that E.H.—who is white—was a “n****r lover.”  As a result of the attack, E.H. suffered serious head injuries, including a concussion, orbital fracture, sinus fracture, and fractured cheekbone. T.J. also suffered injuries from the attack, including multiple contusions to his head and an injury to his hand that required him to undergo physical therapy.

The three obstruction of justice charges in the indictment—one against Yohe and two against Burns—stem from alleged false statements that the two defendants made on the night of the attacks and in interviews afterwards. Burns is alleged to have knowingly lied to the Oceanside Police Department on the night of the attacks, telling an officer that he was not with Yohe but instead was “coming to pick them up,” that he had “just left the gym in San Bernardino,” and that he was “not involved,” which he told the officer to “look at the video” to confirm.  

Burns is also alleged to have knowingly lied to FBI agents during an interview months later, on November 25, 2025, when he told them that the incident began when E.H. punched Yohe first and that he only came down the stairs and started fighting after E.H. punched Yohe. The indictment alleges that Yohe knowingly lied to a court employee in Riverside County on June 13 and 17, 2025, when he claimed that he had gone to Oceanside because his friend was stranded there and needed a ride, that his friend had been involved in an altercation before Yohe arrived, and that Yohe and his friend were “attacked” as they were walking to Yohe’s car. According to the indictment, Yohe referred to himself as a “victim” of that attack. 

Yohe made his initial appearance in federal court today in San Diego before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steve B. Chu.  The United States moved to detain Yohe as a serious risk of flight and danger to the community.  At the request of Yohe’s appointed counsel, the detention hearing was continued to Friday, October 2, 2026, at 10 a.m.  A motion hearing and trial setting is scheduled before U.S.  District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro on October 30, 2026, at 9 a.m. 

Burns made his initial appearance in federal court today in the Northern District of Alabama where he will be held pending proceedings to effectuate his removal and transfer to San Diego. 

After entering pleas of guilty to the three hate crimes charges, Lane was released on a $25,000 personal appearance bond. His sentencing is scheduled for January 8, 2027, at 9 a.m. before Judge Montenegro.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Songer and C. Seth Askins. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division provided assistance and certified hate crime charges pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 249(b)(1).

DEFENDANTS                                              

Case Number 26cr3776-RBM                                             

Austin Yohe                            Age: 23                                   Riverside, CA

Daniel Burns                           Age: 30                                   Wilsonville, AL

Case Number 26cr03839-RBM

Johnny Lee Lane                    Age: 23                                   Riverside, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Hate Crime – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 249

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine

Obstruction of Justice – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1512

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.