A U.S. district court judge sentenced Brandon Simonson, 41, of Moorhead, Minn., to life in federal prison on Friday for beating a fellow inmate, who was Jewish, to death on March 2, 2020. Matthew Phillips died from his injuries three days later.

“Antisemitic violence has no place in our society,” stated Andrew Boutros, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “Violence against people of faith is illegal and unacceptable and will not be tolerated anywhere in our district, including in our prison system.”

A jury convicted Simonson, who was incarcerated at Thomson Penitentiary in Thomson, Ill., of murder and a hate crime in May.

Simonson and Kristopher Martin beat Phillips because the latter was Jewish, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. “Simonson and Martin assau

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