Wednesday September 1, 2010

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- The FBI says two U.S. Marines accused of
attacking a gay man in Savannah will not be charged with a federal
hate crime.

FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett in Savannah said Wednesday the
Justice Department ruled out a hate-crime prosecution after
reviewing evidence in the June 12 attack on Kieran Daly.

Police found Daly unconscious on a downtown street corner.
Witnesses said two Marines got upset when they thought Daly was
winking at them. Daly says he tried to walk away and one of the men
struck him in back of the head.

Cpl. Keil Joseph Cronauer and Lance Cpl. Christopher Charles
Stanzel still face misdemeanor battery charges in state court. They
are based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)