Authorities in New Mexico are seeking hate crimes charges against three men who branded a swastika symbol onto a mentally challenged man from the Navajo Nation.

Jesse Sanford, 24, William Hatch, 28, and Paul Beebe, 26, were charged with first-degree felony kidnapping, second-degree felony conspiracy to commit kidnapping, third-degree felony aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and fourth-degree felony conspiracy to commit aggravated battery Beebe also faces fourth-degree felony tampering with evidence.

The men are believed to be associated with white supremacist groups. In addition to branding a swastika on the victim and shaving a swastika into the back of his head, the men allegedly wrote "White Power" on the victim's body.

"We'll explore every conceivable available avenue in charging them with a hate crime because what happened to the victim was so horribly wrong," Chief Deputy District Attorney Sarah Weaver of San Juan County told The Farmington Daily Times.

In 2007, three white men pleaded guilty for attacking a Navajo man in Farmington.

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DA seeks hate crime charges against men who branded mentally challenged resident with swastika symbol (The Farmington Daily Times 5/9)