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By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) SEPT 2 | Special Agent Stephen Emmett, speaking on behalf of the FBI's regional field office in Atlanta, told the Associated Press Wednesday that the Justice Department had opted against pursuing federal hate-crime charges against two active duty U. S. Marines from the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina.
"The matter now rests with local authorities," Emmett said
The pair, who were accused of beating 26-year-old Kieran Daly, a Savannah, Georgia Gay man unconscious, will be prosecuted instead by the local authorities. Spokeswoman for the District Attorney, Larry Chisolm, Alicia Johnson said in a statement to the AP, that Chatham County prosecutors determined Daly's injuries weren't serious enough to seek felony charges against the Marines.
The Marines accused of attacking Daly — Cpl. Keil Joseph Cronauer, 22, and Lance Cpl. Christopher Charles Stanzel, 23, — have been charged with misdemeanor battery. A judge is scheduled to hear the case on Thursday, September 9th.
Gunnery Sgt. Chad McMeen, spokesman for the Marine Corps Air Station, told the AP that Cronauer and Stanzel remain on duty pending the outcome of the civilian court case.
McMeen also said that the Marines' commanders will make a decision on whether or not to charge the pair with violations of military law, [ UCMJ ] after the case has been resolved in the Georgia court.
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FBI Says Justice Dept Will Not Pursue Charges In Gay Attack 
