News Roundup for June 27, 2011
White nationalist Richard Poplawski was found guilty of murdering three Pittsburgh police officers in a 2009 ambush. The jury today began deliberating Poplawski’s fate. He faces the death penalty.
A skinhead leader pleaded guilty to the revenge killing of a Missouri man. Eric Fairburn, co-founder of the Vinlanders Social Club and a former skinhead musician, admitted to shooting William McDaniel, who had caused the drunk driving death of a friend of Fairburn.
The residents of a Michigan town were startled when they discovered members of the West Michigan Volunteer Militia training in the nearby Manistee National Forest. Local authorities allowed the military-style training exercises, but residents’ concerns have been revived due to a recent increase militia activity throughout the state.
Federal prosecutors are seeking prison time for a New York man who harassed public employees through the mail. Richard Ulloa is a “sovereign citizen” who sent fake bills to bank executives and public employees in an attempt to intimidate them and stop foreclosure on his home and property.
Two Oregon men have been charged with a hate crime after harassing a man with gay slurs and then assaulting him. Authorities say the two men pushed the victim to the ground and kicked him repeatedly before a bystander stepped in and defended the victim. The SPLC reported recently that LGBT people are by far the group most targeted for violent hate crimes.
Police in Lancaster, Calif., are investigating a spree of graffiti sprayings that advocated the murder of gay people. Sheriff’s detectives are considering the occurrence as a possible hate crime.
