Cobra
04-28-2008, 12:59 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080426/ap_on_re_us/nooses_plea;_ylt=Agp4AcXTB9ctqnQxm3PL3ZpvzwcF
ALEXANDRIA, La. - A teenager pleaded guilty Friday to using nooses to threaten marchers after the "Jena Six" rally last year, federal prosecutors said.
Jeremiah Munsen, 19, of Colfax, could get up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine, authorities said. Sentencing was scheduled Aug. 15.
Federal prosecutors dropped a felony conspiracy charge that carried up to 10 years in prison. Interference with the federally protected right to travel, the charge to which Munsen pleaded guilty, is a misdemeanor.
"The defendant today took responsibility for committing a federal hate crime by using a powerful symbol of hate to intimidate a group of interstate travelers because of their race," U.S. Attorney Donald W. Washington said in a statement.
On Sept. 20, Munsen and a juvenile from Dry Prong hung nooses off the back of a pickup truck and drove around downtown Alexandria near a crowd waiting for buses that would take them back to Tennessee after one of the nation's largest civil rights demonstrations.
Some 20,000 people demonstrated in Jena against what critics called the overly harsh prosecution of six black teenagers in the beating of a white classmate. Many of the protesters stayed in the towns and cities surrounding the tiny town, including Alexandria.
Munson "admitted today that he displayed two large nooses from the back of his pickup truck with the intent to frighten and intimidate the demonstrators," a news release from Washington's office said.
Munson drove past the group two or three times "while the other person glared out the window at the demonstrators," according to the news release.
Court-appointed attorney Billy Guin had said earlier this week that Munsen would plead guilty to the misdemeanor.
He said then that he did not know what sentence his client might receive.
"Hopefully, he won't receive any jail time," Guin said.
ALEXANDRIA, La. - A teenager pleaded guilty Friday to using nooses to threaten marchers after the "Jena Six" rally last year, federal prosecutors said.
Jeremiah Munsen, 19, of Colfax, could get up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine, authorities said. Sentencing was scheduled Aug. 15.
Federal prosecutors dropped a felony conspiracy charge that carried up to 10 years in prison. Interference with the federally protected right to travel, the charge to which Munsen pleaded guilty, is a misdemeanor.
"The defendant today took responsibility for committing a federal hate crime by using a powerful symbol of hate to intimidate a group of interstate travelers because of their race," U.S. Attorney Donald W. Washington said in a statement.
On Sept. 20, Munsen and a juvenile from Dry Prong hung nooses off the back of a pickup truck and drove around downtown Alexandria near a crowd waiting for buses that would take them back to Tennessee after one of the nation's largest civil rights demonstrations.
Some 20,000 people demonstrated in Jena against what critics called the overly harsh prosecution of six black teenagers in the beating of a white classmate. Many of the protesters stayed in the towns and cities surrounding the tiny town, including Alexandria.
Munson "admitted today that he displayed two large nooses from the back of his pickup truck with the intent to frighten and intimidate the demonstrators," a news release from Washington's office said.
Munson drove past the group two or three times "while the other person glared out the window at the demonstrators," according to the news release.
Court-appointed attorney Billy Guin had said earlier this week that Munsen would plead guilty to the misdemeanor.
He said then that he did not know what sentence his client might receive.
"Hopefully, he won't receive any jail time," Guin said.