Man charged with hate crime against Edmonds animal control officer

Sean Wagner is accused of telling the officer to “go back to Africa” and repeatedly spewing racist threats.

EDMONDS — A man has been charged with a felony hate crime for allegedly spewing racist threats at an animal control officer in Edmonds.

Sean Wagner, 34, of Cle Elum, is accused of telling the officer, who is Black, to “go back to Africa” and also saying, “We are going to get you and we will fix this.” Snohomish County prosecutors alleged he has several tattoos depicting Nazi imagery.

On the afternoon of April 14, animal control officers were called to a motel off Highway 99, where Wagner was staying. Someone reportedly complained puppies had been barking and howling for two days in the canopy of a truck.

When the officers got there, they decided to take the four dogs to the PAWS shelter in Lynnwood because of reportedly unsafe conditions in the truck. One of the officers left a note for their owner.

Minutes later, Wagner called. He was “extremely agitated” on the phone, according to the charges filed in Snohomish County Superior Court in late October. He eventually told the officer to “(expletive) off” before hanging up.

About 30 minutes later, Wagner arrived at PAWS with his three children, according to court papers. He was “hostile from the beginning,” prosecutors wrote. The officer went outside to get Wagner to leave because he was apparently scaring employees at the animal shelter.

Court documents say he was “immediately aggressive” with the officer. He called her a racist slur.

He then told her to “go back to Africa.”

She then went back inside while Wagner walked toward the back of the building. Wagner yelled, flipped off employees, and at one point, chased one of their cars as they left the parking lot, according to the charges. The officer called for backup. Wagner returned to the front of the building, screaming and banging on doors and windows. He was told to come back the next day for his dogs.

Wagner then walked toward the officer, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, prosecutors alleged. The officer placed her hand on her Taser and asked Wagner to step back. He allegedly used a slur a couple more times. Two of his kids began to cry.

He walked to within arm’s reach of the officer to take out his phone and show her a picture of him with a Nazi flag. This is when Wagner told her, “We are going to get you” and that he was going to kick the officer’s “(expletive).”

Taking his words as threats, the officer drew her Taser and again told him to back up. She pointed it at Wagner’s chest, which got him to stop approaching.

Other officers began to arrive.

Under state law, the victim must have a “reasonable fear of harm” for an act to be considered a hate crime. Words alone are not a hate crime, without a specific threat.

Deputy prosecutor Justin Harleman believes the words in this case reached the threshold.

“Using words like this are clearly a precursor to taking violent action,” he said in an interview.

On Wagner’s chest, there was reportedly a swastika and the Nazi eagle, according to court documents. When an officer pointed those out, he responded with something like, “That’s right, the nationalist party.” Wagner said he understood the officer was just following orders.

“I follow orders too,” he went on to say, according to the charges. “It’s coming. We’re just waiting for the right moment, but it’s coming. When the order is given, you won’t be able to do anything about it. We’ll win.”

Wagner reportedly said he was willing to die for his beliefs, court papers say.

Detectives asked the Anti-Defamation League to analyze Wagner’s tattoos for other racist connotations.

“Some didn’t need analysis,” Harleman noted.

Prosecutors said the advocacy group found other white supremacist symbols tattooed on Wagner’s body.

His arraignment is set for Nov. 18. He had no criminal history, according to court papers.

Cases like these don’t always get prosecuted, Harleman said. Twenty alleged hate crimes were referred to the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office for review last year. There were 17 referrals in 2019; 19 in 2018; and 10 in 2017.

Yet over a third of those didn’t result in any felony charges.

So far this year, 12 hate crime investigations have been referred to the prosecutor’s office for possible felony charges.

“These crimes happen,” Harleman said, “and they’re not always recognized as they should be.”

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.