Adan Hernandez-Mayoral was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison today for a hate crime involving the violent stabbing of a Black woman on a King County Metro bus in March 2024.
Hernandez-Mayoral boarded the bus on March 7, 2024, making racially charged comments and antagonizing the victim, a Black woman. He yelled, “I don’t like Black people, f***in’ hate ’em,” and referred to her as “Rosa Parks,” telling her to move to the back of the bus. When she tried to move, he followed her, pushed her off the bus, beat and stomped on her, then repeatedly stabbed her with a knife. A thick coat protected the victim from more severe injuries.
Hernandez-Mayoral, who pleaded guilty on December 23, 2025, to Hate Crime Causing Bodily Injury, also received three years of supervised release. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said, “Today, we have delivered justice with the sentencing of Adan Hernandez-Mayoral for his brutal, racially motivated attack on the victim.” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd for the Western District of Washington added that “Racially motivated attacks such as this one shock the conscience of our community.”
Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington of the FBI Seattle Field Office emphasized the commitment to holding perpetrators accountable, stating, “Together with our partners like the Kent Police Department, the FBI will hold accountable those like Mr. Hernandez-Mayoral who engage in violent hate crimes.” Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla called it a “horrific and deeply disturbing racially motivated assault.”