BOISE, Idaho — Matthew Alan Lehigh has been charged with a federal hate crime for an assault that police say happened on Oct.12, 2022.
A grand jury indictment alleges that Lehigh drove his car towards two people in Boise in an attempt to "cause them bodily harm." The victims have not been named.
The indictment, sent to KTVB by the United States Court for the District of Idaho, states that Lehigh, "willfully attempted, through use of a dangerous weapon (to wit, a vehicle), to cause bodily injury to S.T. and C.S, because of their perceived sexual orientation."
If he is convicted, Lehigh faces up to 10 years in federal prison. He was indicted on Jan. 10.
Lehigh could not be charged with a hate crime under Idaho state law because Idaho and 18 other states do not have hate crime protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead, Idaho has a law against something called malicious harassment. It is unlawful for people to “maliciously and with the specific intent to intimidate or harass another person because of that person’s race, color, religion, ancestry, or national origin.”
Although Lehigh was indicted on only one count under the Hate Crimes Act, KTVB previously reported that Lehigh has committed multiple crimes against people in the LGBTQ+ community and has a history of assault in Oregon.
Lehigh is also charged under Idaho state law with three counts of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor count of malicious injury to property -- vandalism -- in connection with incidents on Oct. 8 and Oct. 12, 2022, in Boise. Prosecutors allege Lehigh used a homophobic slur against someone and hit them in the arm. Boise Police said that he might have been responsible for other crimes against the LGBTQ+ community in the area.
A preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled for Jan. 18 at the Ada County Courthouse. Online court records indicate Lehigh had been committed to an Idaho Health and Welfare facility, and issues related to his fitness to proceed in the case will be addressed during the upcoming hearing.
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