Desired to kill ‘happy white people’
By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 21, 7:24 PM ET
NEW YORK – A judge sentenced a man to 240 years in prison Wednesday for taking hostages in a bar and telling patrons that “white people are going to burn tonight.”
State Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley told Steven Johnson, 39, who is black, that he had forfeited his “right to live in society.”
Johnson, 39, was convicted March 1 of attempted murder, assault and other charges, including some designated as hate crimes.
Johnson invaded Bar Veloce, in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood, while nine men and six women were inside it June 16, 2002. He was carrying three pistols, a samurai sword and a container of kerosene.