SAN DIEGO — Two alleged white supremacists face federal hate crime and obstruction charges in connection with racially motivated attacks on two U.S. Marines and another man near the Oceanside Pier, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Austin Yohe and Daniel Burns were arrested Tuesday.
A third defendant, Johnny Lee Lane, pleaded guilty Sept. 30 to three federal hate crime offenses, admitting he participated in the attacks and that they were racially motivated.
Two attacks, three injured victims
According to the indictment, the three men traveled to Oceanside on June 7, 2025. Around 8:30 p.m., Yohe and Burns approached a 21-year-old Black and Asian American man sitting with his wife near the pier, identified themselves as skinheads and attacked him without provocation.
They allegedly punched, kicked and stomped on the man and slammed his head into a concrete wall. Lane joined the assault as the victim tried to crawl away, prosecutors said. The man was hospitalized with a concussion and other injuries.
The three then encountered two Marines near the pier plaza: a 24-year-old Black man and a 23-year-old white man.
After shouting racial slurs, the defendants returned and attacked the Marines, according to the indictment. The Marines initially stepped backward and tried to de-escalate the confrontation, but the assault continued.
The white Marine suffered a concussion and fractures to his eye socket, sinus and cheekbone. The Black Marine suffered head injuries and a hand injury requiring physical therapy, prosecutors said.
The indictment alleges Yohe and Burns claim membership in COORS 88, a group that espouses white supremacy.
Alleged lies and upcoming hearings
Yohe faces one obstruction count, and Burns faces two, stemming from allegedly false accounts given to court personnel, police and FBI agents.
Yohe was arrested in Riverside. His detention hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2, followed by a motion hearing and trial setting Oct. 30.
Burns was arrested at an associate’s home in Wilsonville, Alabama, and remains in custody pending transfer to San Diego.
Lane was released on a $25,000 personal appearance bond. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2027, before U.S. District Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro.
Yohe and Burns are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
🔴 Quick Fact Checklist
- 🔴 Attack date: June 7, 2025.
- 🔴 Location: Near the Oceanside Pier in California.
- 🔴 Victims: Three men, including two U.S. Marines.
- 🔴 Charged defendants: Austin Yohe and Daniel Burns face hate crime and obstruction charges.
- 🔴 Guilty plea: Johnny Lee Lane pleaded guilty to three federal hate crime offenses Sept. 30.
- 🔴 Arrests: Yohe and Burns were arrested Sept. 29.
- 🔴 Next hearings: Yohe’s detention hearing is Oct. 2; Lane’s sentencing is Jan. 8, 2027.
- 🔴 Case status: Charges against Yohe and Burns remain allegations. Lane admitted his participation and the racial motivation