Michigan man pleads guilty to hate crimes after threats to Black Lives Matter supporters
A Michigan man accused of intimidating and attempting to intimidate people showing support for Black Lives Matter pleaded guilty to two hate crime charges in federal court, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Kenneth Pilon threatened Starbucks employees: Pilon, 61, pleaded guilty to one count charging him with calling nine Starbucks stores in Michigan and telling employees to relay racial threats to others wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts, the DOJ said in a press release. Pilon allegedly left messages in 2020 two days after Starbucks announced that it would give 250,000 Black Lives Matter T-shirts to employees who wanted to wear them at work amid nationwide protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd. Pilon also threatened to kill Black people, according to the release.
Noose left in truck: The retired optometrist pleaded guilty to a second count, which charged him with placing a noose inside a vehicle along with a note that read: "An accessory to be worn with your ‘BLM’ t-shirt. Happy protesting!”
What officials are saying: “The actions of this defendant were threatening to an entire community,” U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan said in a statement. “We hope this conviction sends the message that this type of activity is criminal, and that we will take the necessary action to protect the people of our district.”
Pilon is scheduled to be sentenced March 23.
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Couple discovers noose in truck
Regina and Donald Simon told the Detroit Free Press, part of the Paste BN NETWORK, in April they found a noose in their truck on July 12, 2020, one day after spending time on their front lawn wearing BLM T-shirts.
"I opened my door, and when I looked at it, then I looked at it again, I was amazed," Donald Simon, who was overcome with anger and confusion at the sight of the noose, said. "I was in shock. I thought, 'Is this really what I think it is?' "
Who put this noose in our truck? Couple gets answers after 2 years of waiting
What is a hate crime?
A hate crime is a "committed criminal offense which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity," according to the FBI.
FBI reports more than 7,000 hate crimes in 2021 — likely an undercount
Pilon's case was investigated by the FBI, which released a report Monday that found more than 7,000 single-bias hate crimes were reported to the Bbureau by law enforcement agencies in 2021.
Of those crimes, 65% of victims were targeted because of the offenders’ race/ethnicity/ancestry bias and about 56% of the known offenders were white. Nearly half of the hate crimes classified as crimes against persons were intimidation.
Experts and FBI officials said the data represents just a fraction of the true number of hate crimes because not all 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are required to submit data on hate crimes to the FBI.
Over 7,000 hate crimes were reported to the FBI in 2021: Here's why that data is flawed.
Contact Breaking News Reporter N'dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg