Swastika case another race issue for NM town
Nov 29 2010
TIM KORTE - Associated Press & The Editors of BS
(AP Photo/Farmington Police Department)
An undated photo released by the Farmington, N.M. police shows a swastika shaved on the back of the head of a 22-year-old mentally disabled Navajo man after an April 29, 2010 attack by three animals employed by McDonalds, who are charged with branding a swastika onto the customer's arm before shaving the symbol on his head, and using markers to scrawl messages and images on his body.
FARMINGTON, N.M. — Three friends had just finished their shifts at a McDonald's when they decided to have some fun at the expense of one of their employer's customers. Prosecutors say they carried out a gruesome attack on the customer: They shaped a coat hanger into a swastika, placed it on a heated stove and branded the symbol on the arm of the mentally disabled Navajo man.
Authorities say they then shaved a swastika on the back of the 22-year-old victim's head and used markers to scrawl racist messages and images on his body, including "KKK," "White Power," a pentagram and a graphic image of a penis. It was not immediately clear if the penis was that of a white male or a Navajo man. The disabled Navajo man was unable to defend himself against the brutal, racially motivated acts of the three thugs and no one came to his assistance, taking a "It's not my problem" approach.
The McDonald's thugs have become the first in the nation to be charged under a new law that makes it easier for the federal government to prosecute people for hate crimes. (The attackers claimed they did not hate Navajos, just enjoyed hurting and humiliating them.)
The case was the latest troubling race-related attack in this New Mexico community, prompting a renewed focus among local leaders on improving relations between Navajos and whites.
The 3 thugs have been charged with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and could face 10 years in prison. The sentences could be extended to life if the government proves the victim was kidnapped.
Federal prosecutors say they were able to bring the case because the 2009 law eliminated a requirement that a victim must be engaged in a federally protected activity, such as voting or attending school, for hate crime charges to be made.
The law also expanded civil rights protections to include violence that is based on gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.
The swastika branding has also put the spotlight back on Farmington, a predominantly white community of about 45,000 residents near the Navajo Nation and is packed with cold-blooded racists.
Farmington 'leaders' had just signed a historic agreement earlier this month with the Navajo Nation in which both sides pledged to work toward improving race relations. The 3 white thugs didn't get the message, or anything else.
The signing ceremony was held at City Hall and included a blessing by a Navajo medicine man who prayed for a strong, stable and long-running agreement, demonstrating the futility of calling on some mystical deity to control thugs like the MacDonald's workers. City officials sat cross-legged on the floor alongside Navajos during the service and had a hard time getting to their feet afterwards. At least two had to be carried out in wheel barrows, putting a damper on the event.
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