A suspected member of the Aryan Brotherhood was charged with a hate crime Wednesday, accused of shouting a racial epithet while trying to trying to stab an African-American man.

James Scott Lee II, 32, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with a "hate crime enhancement" added, bumping the maximum punishment from 20 years to life in prison, if convicted.

"I hate n------ and I'm gonna kill me one today," Lee was quoted as saying as he brandished the knife, according to prosecutors with the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Lee also had brass knuckles at the time of his arrest.

Lee appeared agitated in probable cause court Wednesday as he denied that he made the statement.

Prosecutor Lori DeAngelo requested he be held on $250,000 bail, which is more than eight times the normal amount for an aggravated assault case because of the hate crime enhancement and because he is suspected of being a member of the notorious Aryan Brotherhood of Texas prison gang.

"I am a United States Army General," Lee told the magistrate judge.

Prosecutors contended in a court document that Lee is either mentally unstable or has deep-seated animosity toward African-Americans, but that either way he poses an imminent threat to public safety.

"It can be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is motivated by racial hatred, but in this case, the defendant's own words supply the evidence to charge him with a hate crime," First Assistant District Attorney Tom Berg said.

The victim escaped Lee by jumping into a car and locking the door. The location of the incident was not disclosed, but the case was investigated by the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Lee previously was convicted of domestic assault and violated a protective order.