A U.S. District Court jury in Rockford, Ill., found Brandon (“Whitey”) Simonson, of Moorhead, Minn., guilty of four counts—second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, hate crime and assault—for killing Matthew Phillips because the latter was Jewish.
Iain Johnston, a district court judge, set the sentencing for Aug. 22, the U.S. Department of Justice stated. The trial lasted seven days.
“We are grateful to the jury for delivering justice in a very difficult case for Mr. Phillips’ family and the people of the Northern District of Illinois,” stated Andrew Boutros, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
“The significant convictions in this case are the result of the extraordinary dedication and commitment of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners,” he said. “We will not tolerate criminal acts such as these anywhere in our district, including in our prison system.”
According to the Justice Department, Simonson conspired with another inmate named Kristopher Martin at the federal prison Thomson Penitentiary, in Thomson, Ill., “to beat Phillips because he was Jewish.”
“Simonson and Martin assaulted Phillips to gain recognition and membership into a white supremacist antisemitic prison gang called the Valhalla Bound Skinheads,” the Justice Department said. “Evidence showed Simonson punched and kicked Phillips in the face and head, despite Phillips being knocked unconscious and unable to defend himself.”
Phillips died on March 5, 2020, due to the assault three days prior, per the department.
The Marshall Project and NPR reported in 2022 that “on March 2, 2020, officers put Matthew Phillips—a 31-year-old Jewish man with a large Star of David tattooed on his chest—in a recreation cage with two known members of a white supremacist gang, according to a federal court indictment.”
“The gang members beat and kicked him until he went unconscious. Officers yelled at the men to stop, the indictment says,” per the report. “This wasn’t the first time Phillips had been targeted—he was previously attacked by gang members at Thomson and another prison, according to claims made in a lawsuit.”
When Phillips’ parents flew from Texas to a hospital in Iowa to see their son, who was “unconscious and handcuffed to his hospital bed,” they were able to see him for 10 minutes, “with a guard in the room and two guards outside,” NPR and the Marshall Project reported.
“According to information from a Bureau of Prisons internal affairs report shared with the Marshall Project and NPR, officers laughed and made jokes at Phillips’ expense, prompting hospital staff to complain about their conduct,” the two reported. “Phillips died three days later, as he neared the end of his seven-year sentence for drug possession with intent to distribute and money laundering.”
Phillips’ mother, Sue, told NPR and the Marshall Project at the time that “it was a long, horrible journey that ended in the worst possible way, a death with no degree of dignity at all.”
“The Bureau of Prisons doesn’t care about the damage they leave in their wake,” she added. “He didn’t deserve to die. He deserved to come home.”
The Justice Department stated on Wednesday that the co-conspirator Martin, who also goes by “No Luck,” 43, of Brazil, Ind., pleaded guilty this year and awaits sentencing.