News Roundup for July 1, 2011
DNA evidence has been presented in the trial of two Illinois men alleged to have beaten and robbed a woman because of her sexual orientation. The defense is seeking a possible plea deal over the evidence, which may provide a definitive link to the crime in which the two assailants made anti-gay slurs at the woman before they punched, kicked and robbed her.
The FBI has begun an investigation into a possible hate crime in Nevada. As previously reported, a Native American family claims to have been targeted and assaulted by a group of three skinheads, which led to the arrest of one of the victims, Johnny Bonta, but not the attackers. The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office is disputing the claims, but concerns have arisen over one of the attackers being the son of a former deputy.
Somerset County, Va., residents are on alert as multiple flyers were found in one town announcing a Ku Klux Klan meeting to be held in the area. Concerns were raised due to three individuals being arrested earlier in the year for vandalizing traffic signs with racial slurs and “KKK.”
A woman has pled guilty to her part in an Arkansas firebombing of the house of a mixed-race couple. Wendy Treybig, 31, pled guilty to obstruction of justice after she lied in court about her knowledge of the event.
