PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – A pair of white Maine men have been indicated by a grand jury on charges of violating federal hate crime laws when they assaulted a black man.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine says 34-year-old Maurice Diggins and 27-year-old Dusty Leo made their first appearance in federal court Monday. The indictment says Diggins and Leo violated hate crime laws when they targeted the man because of his race, called him a racial slur and forcefully struck him in the head.

The indictment says the assault took place April 15 in a parking lot in Biddeford, where Diggins and Leo are from. The case is also in the state court system.

An attorney for Diggins says his client “adamantly denies” any wrongdoing. Leo’s lawyer didn’t immediately call back.