Federal hate crime charges for 4 men in Houston bus stop beating

A federal grand jury in Houston has indicted four men on hate crime charges for the August beating of a black man at a bus stop. It's the first such prosecution in the region under the tough bias law.

The Justice Department on Thursday announced the indictment of Charles Cannon, Michael McLaughlin, Brian Kerstetter and Joseph Staggs, reports CBS affiliate KHOU.

The indictment reportedly says the victim, identified as 29-year-old Yondell Johnson, was punched and kicked as he waited for a bus, all while being taunted by racial slurs.

According to KHOU, the four suspects, who have white supremacist gang tattoos, were arrested at the scene following a 911 call. If convicted, each could face up to 10 years in prison.

Back in August, local activists reportedly demanded the four men be charged with hate crimes, but the district attoey's office instead charged them with misdemeanor assault while the investigation continued.

On Thursday, the FBI said District Attoey Pat Lykos had worked with the federal agency to pursue the tougher charges, KHOU reports.

Now, the four suspects are all charged with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the justice department announced Thursday.

FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said this was the first time the law would be used to prosecute someone in Houston and only the third instance nationally, KHOU reports.

FBI agents reportedly say the act is the first significant enhancement to civil rights legislation.

"It also provided an additional tool for law enforcement to use in investigation civil rights or violent crimes that are rooted in hate," said FBI Agent Stephen Morris. "It's a powerful tool and allows law enforcement to be able to use to not only investigate the cases, but also hand down some pretty significant punishments for it."