Bronx Man Serving Federal Sentence At Residential Reentry Center Charged With Hate Crime

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), James C. Barnacle, Jr., and Commissioner of the New York City Police Department ("NYPD"), Jessica S. Tisch, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging SHORAI MOORE with one count of committing a hate crime in connection with his assault of a gay man on April 1, 2026. MOORE was arrested this morning and will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.

"All New Yorkers deserve to live in their communities free from hate-fueled violence," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. "Hate undermines all that we hold dear in New York, including providing opportunity to all. No one should be targeted because of their sexual orientation. This Office, working with our state and federal law enforcement partners, will always protect New Yorkers from hateful, violent crimes."

"This alleged assault traumatized an innocent victim due to his sexual orientation," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. "The FBI's Hate Crimes Task Force is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities against violence driven by hate."

"This defendant-who was already serving a federal sentence at a residential reentry facility-violently attacked a gay man based on the victim's sexual orientation," said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. "Bias-motivated crimes tear at the fabric of society, and the NYPD will never tolerate hate of any kind in our city. I thank our NYPD investigators, our partners at the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District for their work in this case, for their efforts to bring this criminal to justice."

According to the allegations in the Indictment and other public filings:

On April 1, 2026, MOORE was serving a term of imprisonment for narcotics trafficking at a Federal Bureau of Prisons residential reentry center in the Bronx, New York. On that day, MOORE, while standing outside a Bronx deli, yelled anti-gay slurs and statements, including that gay people should "get off the block," before assaulting a gay victim with his fist, a recycling bin, and a plastic crate.

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MOORE, 31, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of committing a hate crime, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office's Civil Rights and Human Trafficking Unit in the Criminal Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Jones and Madison Reddick Smyser are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.