Indiana Man Indicted on Federal Hate Crime Charge for Stabbing of Chinese-American Student

On Thursday, a federal grand jury in Evansville, Indiana, returned a single-count indictment charging Billie Davis, 56, with a hate crime in connection with the January 2023 attack of an 18-year-old Indiana University student. The student, who has not been publicly identified, survived the attack.

According to court documents, Davis told Bloomington police that she stabbed the student in the head with a folding knife for “being Chinese” and that “it would be one less person to blow up our country.” Video of the attack shows no interaction between Davis and the student before the stabbing.

The Justice Department said in a statement that the indictment was the result of an investigation by the FBI’s Indianapolis Division and the Bloomington Police Department.

Davis has already been charged with state counts in the attack. If convicted of the federal hate crime charge, she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The attack has sparked outrage and fear among the Chinese-American community in Bloomington. The Chinese-American Student Association at Indiana University has organized a rally to show support for the student and to call for justice.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana and the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section. The investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be forthcoming.