Sentencing turns into courthouse violence

The sentencing of two members of a white supremacist organization turned violent in federal court Tuesday when one of the men managed to smuggle a homemade knife into the courthouse and stab a Hispanic man in a court holding cell.

Before the stabbing, Lance Vanderstappen was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for one count of violence in aid of racketeering-assault with a dangerous weapon, for stabbing a Utah State Prison inmate using a shank in January 2001.

After his sentence, federal marshals said the apparent random stabbing took place within a holding cell with about six other inmates looking on.

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal James Thompson said his office was concerned that Vanderstappen could be carrying a weapon in his body while in a courtroom before U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart and a member of the federal prosecutor's office, which has been the focus of death threats from the group known as Soldiers of Aryan Culture.

"Safety is always a concern for us and we know there is a potential for violence with them," Thompson said.

Thompson said Vanderstappen was strip-searched before being transported from prison. However, he said civil liberty issues preclude guards from routinely conducting body cavity searches without a search warrant and only by a licensed physician. Thompson declined to specifically disclose where the knife was hidden.

"He secreted the weapon, which was a homemade shank, from his body," Thompson said.

Thompson said the victim had no connection to Vanderstappen and authorities suspect the man was targeted because he was Hispanic. It was estimated the entire incident took place within five to 10 seconds, before two posted deputy U.S. Marshals could intervene.

Members of SAC are no strangers to violence. In addition to being connected with numerous assaults within the Utah penal system, SAC members were also involved in a violent brawl in a federal courtroom last December.

The scuffle involved 10 members and 15 deputy U.S. marshals after a U.S. magistrate judge ordered all in-person and telephone communication cut off due to reported threats made to federal prosecutors. No one was seriously injured in the courtroom altercation.

Thompson said the victim in Tuesday's stabbing suffered three puncture wounds and various superficial cuts and marks. While the wounds did draw blood, Thompson said the shank missed internal organs.

There is the issue of disease transmission, however, and Thompson said the victim was kept overnight at a local hospital for observation.