Tag Archives: hate crimes

Hate Crime Verdict In Burning Of Church Rainbow Flag

The Ames Tribune reports: The Ames man accused of tearing down a pride banner from Ames United Church of Christ and setting it on fire was found guilty by a jury Wednesday morning. Adolfo Martinez, 30, was found guilty of a hate crime, third-degree harassment, reckless use of fire and habitual offender, Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said. The habitual …

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Retired State Department Diplomat Gets Five Years For Deluging Arab Group With Hundreds Of Emails, Threats

Via press release from the Justice Department: William Patrick Syring, 61, of Arlington, Virginia, was today sentenced to 60 months in prison for threatening employees of the Arab American Institute (AAI) because of their race and national origin, threatening AAI employees because of their efforts to encourage Arab Americans to participate in political and civic life in the United States, …

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Hate Crime Charges In London Bus Attack On Lesbians

The Independent reports: Four teenage boys have been charged with an aggravated hate crime over a homophobic attack against two women on a London night bus, the Metropolitan Police has said. Melania Geymonat, 28, and her girlfriend Chris were hospitalised with facial injuries and left covered with blood after the assault on 30 May. The couple had been travelling home …

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Hate Crime Charge For Man Who Screamed Death Threats, Vandalized Home Over Rainbow Porch [VIDEO]

NBC News St. Louis reports: A man has been charged with a hate crime and threatening to kill LGBTQ residents in Soulard. On May 24, police received several 911 calls about property damage in the 1300 block of Sidney Street. While investigating what happened, police obtained surveillance video that showed a man committing the crimes. That man was later identified …

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LONDON: Lesbian Couple Bloodied By Gang Of Men On City Bus After Refusing To Kiss For Their Amusement

Newsweek reports: A woman has spoken out about a terrifying ordeal in which she and her girlfriend were attacked by a gang of men on a London bus after they refused to kiss for their entertainment. Uruguay national Melania Geymonat, 28, posted a photo showing the aftermath of the assault in which she and her American girlfriend Chris are covered …

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DALLAS: Hate Crime Charges For Two Men Alleged To Have Beaten, Kidnapped Nine Men Lured On Grindr

CBS News Dallas reports: A federal grand jury charged a pair of Dallas men with conspiracy to commit hate crimes, kidnapping and carjacking. Daniel Jenkins, 20, and Daryl Henry, 22, were also charged with hate crimes and kidnapping. Jenkins was also charged with carjacking and brandishing a firearm during crimes of violence. “Criminals are using apps like Grindr to single …

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OREGON: Life Sentence For White Supremacist Killer

Portland’s CBS News affiliate reports: The man who chased a black teenager with his car and intentionally ran him over outside a 7-Eleven was sentenced to life in prison. The August 2016 incident killed 19-year-old Larnell Bruce. Russell Courtier received his sentence on Tuesday morning. The State of Oregon previously presented evidence showing that Courtier is a white supremacist. In …

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LOUISIANA: Hate Crime Charges In Church Fires

The Associated Press reports: The white man suspected in the burnings of three African American churches in Louisiana will remain in jail, denied bond Monday by a judge, as state prosecutors added new charges declaring the arsons a hate crime. Twenty-one-year-old Holden Matthews, the son of a sheriff’s deputy, entered his not guilty plea via video conference from the St. …

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LOUISIANA: Man Arrested In Arson Of Black Churches

Lafayette, Louisiana’s ABC News affiliate reports: KATC has confirmed with multiple law enforcement sources that one person is in custody in the recent church fires in St. Landry Parish. Sources confirm the suspect in the church arsons is Holden Matthews, 21. He is the son of a St. Landry Parish Deputy. He was booked at around 5:30 this evening into …

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Father’s Hate Crime Story Brings House Panel To Tears

CBS News reports: As Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha calmly, clinically, described reviewing the autopsy reports for his murdered daughters and son-in-law, members of the House Judiciary Committee clasped their hands over the mouths, stifling tears. The Feb. 10, 2015 murders of 21-year-old Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, her 23-year-old husband Deah Shaddy Barakat, and 19-year-old sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, shocked the Chapel Hill, …

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UTAH: GOP Gov Signs LGBT-Inclusive Hate Crimes Bill

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: After years and years of trying and failing, Utah finally has a working hate crimes law. In a public ceremony at the Utah State Capitol on Tuesday, Governor Gary Herbert signed Senate Bill 103 into law. “I think with the passage of Senate Bill 103, we are sending a message that …

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UTAH: Arrest Warrant Issued For Man In Viral Anti-Gay Assault After He Fails To Appear For Court [VIDEO]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: The Florida man who was caught on video asking a Utah man if he is gay and then punching him failed to show up for a court date on Friday, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Carlo Alazo, 22, faces three misdemeanors — one count of threatening to use a weapon in a …

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Trump Claims FBI/DOJ Will “Review” Smollette Case

NBC News Chicago reports: The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice will review the case involving “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, President Donald Trump tweeted early Thursday. Representatives for the FBI and DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday morning. The surprise decision to dismiss all charges, which was celebrated by Smollett and his …

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Nazi Driver Pleads Guilty To 29 Hate Crime Charges

CBS News reports: James Fields, Jr. has pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crime charges for his car attack on a crowd of people on Aug. 12, 2017 in Charlottesville. The attack killed Heather Heyer Charlottesville that killed Heather Heyer and injured many other people. As a result of the plea, the death penalty was taken off the table. The …

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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Rebukes Prosecutors For “Whitewash” In Dropping Smollett Charges [VIDEO]

Deadline reports: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson dismissed Empire actor Jussie Smollett’s latest insistence on his innocence and decried the prosecutors’ dismissal of criminal charges against the Empire actor as, in Emanuel’s words, “a whitewash.” Emanuel lambasted Smollett as selfishly exploiting hate crime laws for his own personal gain. “He took those laws and turned them …

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Jussie Smollett Maintains Innocence: I’ve Been Truthful

“I want you to know that not for a moment was it in vain. I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I was accused of. This has been an incredibly difficult time. Honestly, one of the worst of my …

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BREAKING: Charges Dropped Against Jussie Smollett

Chicago’s ABC affiliate reports: Charges against actor Jussie Smollett have been dropped, his attorneys said Tuesday. Smollett is in court to make an emergency court appearance. In a statement, Smollett’s attorneys Tina Glandian and Patricia Brown Holmes said, “Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic …

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UTAH: LGBT-Inclusive Hate Crimes Law To Pass After Right Wingers Add “Political Expression” As Category

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: After years of stalling in the Utah Legislature, a bill to strengthen the state’s hate crimes law has now cleared both chambers by commanding margins. Before passing the bill, the House adopted an amendment that added “political expression” to the list of categories that would be protected by the updated hate crimes statue. Rep. Karianne …

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ALABAMA: Man Convicted In Infamous Torture Killing Of Gay Man Is Stabbed To Death By Fellow Prison Inmate

The Birmingham Herald reports: A 45-year-old man convicted in the 1999 hate crime murder of Billy Jack Gaither has been killed in an Alabama prison. Steven Eric Mullins [photo] was found unresponsive Feb. 26 at St. Clair Correctional Facility, Alabama Department of Corrections officials announced Monday. The Department of Corrections’ Investigations and Intelligence Division is filing capital murder charges against …

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FLORIDA: Hate Crime Charges For Man Who Shouted N-Word, Brandished Gun At Teen Protesters [VIDEO]

ABC News reports: Mark Bartlett, who is white, originally was charged only with carrying a concealed firearm after he allegedly pulled a gun on protesters blocking a Miami street as a part of a demonstration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But prosecutors announced hate crime charges on Tuesday, citing the completion of final interviews and witness statements. Bartlett, 51, …

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