Guilty Plea in Marine Hate Crime Case

PHOTO CAPTION: Surveillance imagery from the June 7, 2025 attacks near Oceanside Pier, included in federal court records from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Federal prosecutors say two U.S. Marines and a third man were assaulted in racially motivated attacks that night.

One man pleaded guilty to three federal hate crimes Wednesday while two others were charged and arrested in connection with a racially motivated attack that left two U.S. Marines with serious injuries near California’s Oceanside Pier.
The attack happened June 7, 2025, but the federal indictment against Austin Yohe and Daniel Burns was unsealed Sept. 30. A third man, Johnny Lee Lane, pleaded guilty the same day and admitted participating in racially motivated attacks on all three victims.
According to the indictment, the two Marines were standing in a plaza near Oceanside Pier eating funnel cake while waiting for a table at a nearby restaurant.
The Marines were identified in court documents only by their initials. T.J. was a 24-year-old Black man and E.H. was a 23-year-old white man.
Prosecutors allege Yohe, Burns and Lane yelled racial slurs at the Marines as the group walked through the plaza and up a set of stairs.
The Marines did not follow them or make gestures toward them, according to the indictment.
About one to two minutes later, prosecutors say Yohe and Burns came back down the stairs with Lane following.
Yohe allegedly walked up to E.H. and punched him forcefully in the face without provocation. Burns then allegedly approached T.J. and punched him in the head.
Even after being struck, prosecutors say the Marines did not immediately fight back. Instead, they stepped backward and attempted to de-escalate the confrontation.
The indictment alleges Yohe and Burns continued the attack, punching, grabbing, tackling and kicking the Marines.
Lane then allegedly joined the assault, striking both Marines and kicking E.H. multiple times in or near the head while he was on the ground.
E.H. suffered a concussion, an orbital fracture, a sinus fracture and a fractured cheekbone.
T.J. suffered multiple contusions to his head and a hand injury that required physical therapy.
The attack on the Marines was not the first alleged assault that evening.
Prosecutors say the three men had encountered a 21-year-old Black and Asian American man, identified as T.L.W., near the pier shortly before the Marines were attacked.
T.L.W. and his wife had attended a family funeral earlier that day and were sitting on a bench when Yohe and Burns allegedly approached them, identified themselves as “skinheads” and attacked him without provocation.
The indictment alleges T.L.W. was repeatedly punched, kicked and stomped on and had his head slammed into the concrete wall of a nearby building.
As he tried to crawl away, prosecutors say Lane approached, yelled a racial slur and joined the attack.
T.L.W. was hospitalized with a concussion, swelling to his head, cuts and bruises.
Lane, 23, pleaded guilty Sept. 30 to three federal hate-crime offenses, one involving each victim. Prosecutors say he admitted that he participated in the attacks with Yohe and Burns and that the assaults were racially motivated.
Yohe, 23, and Burns, 30, have not been convicted in the case.
The indictment alleges both men claimed membership in COORS 88, a group prosecutors say espouses white supremacy. Burns is also alleged to have a tattoo on his arm reading “skinhead.”
Both men also face obstruction of justice allegations.
Prosecutors accuse Burns of falsely telling Oceanside police on the night of the attacks that he was not involved and later telling FBI agents that one of the Marines had thrown the first punch.
Yohe is accused of falsely portraying himself as a victim of the Oceanside confrontation while speaking with a Riverside County court employee.
The FBI arrested Yohe in Riverside, California, on Sept. 29. Burns was arrested at an associate’s home in Wilsonville, Alabama, at about the same time.
Yohe appeared in federal court in San Diego on Sept. 30. Burns appeared in federal court in Alabama and is being held while authorities arrange his transfer to San Diego.
Lane was released on a $25,000 personal appearance bond after entering his guilty pleas. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2027.
The allegations against Yohe and Burns remain accusations. Both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.