We Can Stop The Hate | Hate Flashpoints

Patchogue, Long Island

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:42:00 GMT

November 14th, 2008 - A brutal hate crime was committed in Patchogue, Long Island on November 8, 2008, when a 37-year-old immigrant named Marcello Lucero was ruthlessly beaten and stabbed to death by a group of teenagers who thought he was Mexican. "The teenagers were playing in a park and came up with the idea of looking for 'Mexicans' to beat up," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer. Not finding any close by, the teens piled into their car and drove around to find some. They eventually found Lucero and a friend at the Long Island Rail Road Station. Lucero's friend escaped and called the police, but the seven teenagers beat and stabbed Lucerountil he died. Six of the teenagers face charges of assault and a first-degree hate crime. The teenager alleged with stabbing Lucero faces charges for manslaughter and a first-degree hate crime. All seven teenagers are under 18.

Shenandoah, PA

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:31:00 GMT

July 13th, 2008 - A 25-year-old immigrant is beaten to death by a group of teenagers, some of whom play football for the local high school team. Witnesses report that the teenagers shout ethnic slurs during the beating which apparently resulted after an argument between the victim and the teenagers. The victim later dies from head injuries in a local hospital. As of now, no charges have been filed. The victim was engaged to a 24-year-old woman from Shenandoah with whom he had two children. His fiancée's 3-year-old also thought of him as a father.Update: July 25, 2008Two teens are charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation. A third teen is charged with aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation. All three suspects are residents of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania and played football at Shenandoah Valley High School.

Omaha, NE

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:53:00 GMT

October 8th, 2007 - Eduardo Garcia wakes up to find his truck and his wife's car set ablaze. Two other cars are also vandalized and have the words "white power" and a swastika spray-painted on them. No one is immediately arrested.

Avon Park, FL

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:19:00 GMT

September 30th, 2007 - José Gonzales returns home to find his car and garage destroyed by a fire set by an arsonist who also spray-painted “F--- Puerto Rico” on the garage walls. Gonzales, a U.S. citizen and a mechanic, loses all of his tools in the fire. No arrests are made in the town, which is famous for its passage of harsh anti-immigrant laws.

Montgomery County, VA

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:59:00 GMT

August 23rd, 2007 - Victor Hernandez, a Honduran immigrant dishwasher, is walking home from work when he is kicked into unconsciousness by teenagers who rob him of $160. The two teens arrested tell police they were "amigo shopping" - seeking vulnerable Hispanic workers to rob. The Washington Post reports "alarmingly common" anti-immigrant crimes in the area of Washington, DC, and its Virginia suburbs. Police from Montgomery County, Virginia and neighboring counties tell the newspaper that the majority of local robbery victims since 2006 have been Latino.

West, TX

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:01:00 GMT

August 12th, 2007 - A Latino man is struck in the face several times after getting into a hostile exchange of words outside a convenience store with a group of white men and women who later tell police that they are affiliated with Aryan Nations, a neo-Nazi hate group. The victim, who has not been identified publicly, fled but is attacked a second time later the same night by several assailants who beat, stomp, and cut him. The alleged leader of the attacks, Stephen Ray Chapman, is arrested and charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Garden Grove, CA

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:07:00 GMT

August 8th, 2007 - Felipe Alvarado, an immigrant working as a janitor at a fast-food restaurant, is taunted with racist threats and then attacked by three men, one of whom is carrying a loaded gun. James Joseph Kelly, Justin Louis Mullins, and Cheyne Danica Wilson are arrested and charged with felony assault with hate crime enhancements for allegedly beating Alvarado after yelling, among other things, "Go back to Mexico, you wetback!" Wilson is also charged with illegally possessing a handgun.

Fallbrook, CA

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:48:00 GMT

July 17th, 2007 - A parishioner pulls into the parking lot of St. Peter's Church in Fallbrook, telling the MM they aren't welcome. As she tries to exit, several SDMM supporters follow on foot, shouting at her. A second Fallbrook resident pulls in and exits his car. A MM maces him four times, twice as the man retreats to his car. The MM's camera is smashed in the course.

Fallbrook, CA

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 11:47:00 GMT

July 7th, 2007 - As a funeral service gets underway at the nearby Church, a Minuteman yells "pick your slaves" to prospective day laborer employers and attempts to provoke an activist. A Minutewoman can be heard saying "anchor baby on the way" to a Latina activist who is pregnant.

Fallbrook, CA

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 11:45:00 GMT

July 7th, 2007 - Jeff Scwhilk, leader of the San Diego Minutemen, shouts "carpet muncher" (a pejorative term for a lesbian) at an activist as she walks past a church where members of a wedding party are gathering. He encourages Minutemen standing in front of the church to "get 'er."