A Colorado man who admitted he stabbed an Oregonian “because he was Black” was sentenced to nearly two decades in federal prison on Thursday, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

Nolan L. Strauss, 27, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in federal court on Thursday and will be on five years supervision following his release. He plead guilty to a hate crime involving an attempt to kill in June, officials said.

“We hope the lengthy sentence imposed today will bring some measure of peace and closure for the man viciously attacked by Nolan Strauss,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott Erik Asphaug in a release. “The sentence should also send a clear message to anyone contemplating similar acts of violence: hatred and bigotry will not be tolerated.”

The charges stem from a Dec. 21, 2019, incident where a man walked into an Arby’s Restaurant and adjoining Pilot Travel Center in Ontario, Ore. where he was planning to provide documentations for a pending job application, according to the release.

The victim sat in a booth alone, while waiting to meet with the restaurant’s manager. Strauss entered the building and approached the victim from behind and without warning stabbed him twice in the neck.

While being attacked, the  the victim attempted to grab Strauss’ hand and took the knife, which prevented Strauss from stabbing him again, according to the release.

A maintenance worked commanded Strauss to drop the knife several times before the victim broke free from Strauss’ grip. The victim fled to the other side of the establishment before collapsing.

Strauss’ hands were restrained by the maintenance worker with a belt until police arrived. While they waited, the worker asked Strauss why he stabbed the man and said, “because he was Black, and I don’t like Black people.”

Police took Strauss into custody on-scene and he later admitted he was trying to kill the man due to the color of his skin, according to the release.

“This defendant is being held accountable for his brutal and racially-motivated attack against a Black man carried out because of the color of his skin,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a release. “Racially motivated attacks have no place in our society, and the Civil Rights Division will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws that prohibit bias motivated violence.”