Two men were sentenced to three year-prison terms for assaulting a Sikh man in Northern California and admitting to hate crimes.

Colton Leblanc and Chase Little on Thursday each pleaded no contest to assault with a hate crime enhancement.

Maan Singh Khalsa was dressed in traditional Sikh clothes driving to a religious ceremony in Richmond, California, in September when someone in a pickup truck threw a half-full beer can at his car. Leblanc and Little then jumped out the truck and punched Khalsa numerous times through an open window.

They knocked off his turban and cut Khalsa's hair with a knife. The Sikh religion considers unshorn hair sacred.

The assault occurred in Richmond, which is 18 miles (29 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.