Ventura Defense Attorney Robert Helfend Will Defend You Against Hate Crime Charges
Posted By
Editor on Sep 8, 2010 8:24pm PDT
The mumurs around the nation concerning the possible building of a Muslim cultural center near ground zero are quite possibly becoming more than just talk and irritation. Recently an act of vandalism at a mosque in Madera California was ruled, and will be tried, as a hate crime.
"It's an environment with rapid urbanization. The diversity and change that makes California such a great place also means ... there are more potential flashpoints," U.S. Atty. Benjamin Wagner said. "This office has a lot of experience prosecuting hate crimes."
He is talking about the night when a brick nearly smashed through a window at a the mosque in Madera. Vandals also spray painted signs reading things like: "Wake up America, the enemy is here," and "No temple for the god of terrorism."
The group going by the name American Nationalist Brotherhood have spoken up saying that they were the perpetrators for not only this, but also the attack on the planned parenthood office in Madera as well.
"Unfortunately, police officers sometimes suffer from a tribal mentality of "us versus them." As a result, they may occasionally rationalize questionable or outright unconstitutional behavior if they believe it results in "getting the bad guys." They can also take advantage of a person's lack of knowledge regarding the law. It's not uncommon for officers to engage a suspect in conversation in order to see if the suspect will incriminate him or herself or agree to let the officers search his/her car or house voluntarily. What may appear as "good police work" may be nothing more than manipulation, intimidation, or outright harassment." - Robert Helfend