Man targeted Boise’s LGBTQ+ community. He just entered a plea in federal hate crime case
An Oregon man admitted in federal court in Boise on Thursday that he committed a spree of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the city last October.
Matthew Lehigh pleaded guilty to two felony charges of violating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act for separate vehicular assaults, according to a Department of Justice news release. He also acknowledged that he set a Pride flag on fire, broke windows and punched a man after calling him an anti-LGBTQ+ slur.
Lehigh faces 37 to 45 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He must also see a psychiatrist and pay restitution of over $7,000 once he leaves prison, according to the release and a copy of his plea agreement filed in federal court. He will be sentenced on Sept. 6, Christy Gunderson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told the Idaho Statesman.
“Everyone, no matter who they are, should be free from senseless violence,” Josh Hurwit, U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho, said in the release.
On Oct. 8, Lehigh went into the Boise Public Library’s main branch, called a transgender employee a slur, punched her and threatened to stab her. After a security guard stepped in and followed Lehigh to a parking lot, Lehigh tried to run the guard over with his vehicle, the release stated.
In another Boise parking lot four days later, Lehigh spotted two women he believed to be lesbians, according to the release. He shouted at them and then tried to hit them with a car. They jumped out of his way and he hit another vehicle.
Those are the two incidents to which he pleaded guilty. He also admitted lighting a Pride flag at a North Boise home on fire, smashing windows at an LGBTQ+ community center and an accepting religious organization, and hitting a man whom he called a slur, according to the release and plea agreement.
Though the federal case led to a plea deal, Idaho cases were dropped by prosecutors.
Boise and Ada County prosecutors previously dismissed assault, malicious injury to property, arson and battery charges in Ada County Magistrate Court, according to court records.
In October, Magistrate Judge Regan Jameson found Lehigh unfit to have his case proceed unless his competency could be restored, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. Jameson ruled on Jan. 18 that the case could resume, but that same day, Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts moved to dismiss it without prejudice, since Lehigh had been charged federally by that point.
Because it was dismissed without prejudice, prosecutors could refile the charges in the future.
Boise Deputy City Attorney Nicole Schafer moved to have its case against Lehigh dismissed on Jan. 31, citing only “the interest of justice.”
As the Statesman previously reported, Boise law enforcement could not pursue a hate crime case against Lehigh because the state’s malicious harassment statute does not cover sexual orientation or gender identity.
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 7:19 PM.
