(CNN) A former New Jersey police chief who called Donald Trump the "last hope for white people," and used racial slurs hours after allegedly using excessive force on a handcuffed black man, was found guilty Wednesday in federal court of lying to the FBI.

Frank Nucera, 62, is on trial after he was charged with committing a hate crime and violating a man's civil rights by using excessive force during the arrest, according to a 2017 criminal complaint released by the US Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey. He was also charged with lying to the FBI about the arrest.

A jury found Nucera guilty of one count of making false statements to the FBI, but will return to court Thursday to continue deliberations on the other two charges, according to a news release from the New Jersey US Attorney's Office.

The maximum penalty for lying to federal authorities is five years in prison. The other charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Police were called in September 2016 to a hotel in Bordentown, where Nucera was police chief and township administrator. Police arrested two African American teenagers who were accused of staying in a room at the hotel without paying.

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