An Austin man was convicted for a hate crime on Thursday after slapping and threatening a man with a box-cutter on a bus in 2022.

George Johnson, 35, was found guilty by a jury on two counts of aggravated assault in the Travis County Criminal Court for the June 2022 assault, according to the Travis County District Attorney’s office. The jury found he targeted the victim based in prejudice against homosexuality. On the same day as his conviction, Judge Dayna Blazey sentenced him to serve five years for each count concurrently.

“The Travis County District Attorney’s office does not tolerate acts of hate in our community, takes hate crimes seriously, and is committed to holding people who commit these crimes accountable,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza in a press release.

The incident happened on a bus Johnson was riding on June 14, 2022, according to his arrest affidavit. During a bus ride from the bus stop at Metric Boulevard and West Braker Lane to the Norwood Park stop, the affidavit said Johnson was making comments about the victim’s sexual orientation. When another man struggled to pay his fare with Apple Pay and was allowed to board for free, Johnson began making more homophobic comments, upset that he was allowed on for free. Johnson then approached a man while brandishing a box-cutter with its blade drawn, slapping the man’s face while continuing to hurl homophobic comments.

“I’ll cut your (expletive) throat,” Johnson said on surveillance video from the incident shown in court. “Don’t ever do that gay (expletive) again.” 

He was arrested and charged a little over a week later on June 22. In 2023, he was re-indicted with hate crime charges, alleging he intentionally targeted the victim because of his bias against his sexual preference.

Johnson’s attorneys did not immediately respond to request for comment.

This is the second hate-crime case in Travis County this year resulting in a guilty finding related to prejudice against sexual orientation, following Georgia man Michael Boone’s July guilty plea for saying he would shoot Austin school board members over their participation in a 2023 pride parade.