Chicago-based Thomas More Society (TMS) filed civil Hate Crime charges in an Amended Complaint against an abortion clinic proprietor and ally in federal district court in Rockford, Illinois as part of an ongoing court battle.

Rockford resident Keith A. Sterkeson physically threatened and then attacked Eric Nelson and Kevin Rilott while calling Nelson the "N" word several times, “A n...r, a n...r .  You are a worthless degenerate n...r.  Oh, you are a n...r! You are a degenerate and empty skull, thinking Jesus is going to save you. You’re a n...r.  Your mother was a n...r.”

To view parts of the verbal assault, follow this link: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6860854372894347704, WARNING EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.

"Here, defendant Sterkeson, with support from clinic proprietor Wayne Webster, was angrily spewing forth vile and hateful rhetoric of the worst sort -- accusing Nelson of being a ‘half breed’ whose mother was African-American -- on the public sidewalk in a loud screeching voice,”  stated TMS attorneys. “Sterkeson’s uttering such hateful speech against racial minorities, or religious folks, or homosexuals, while he was perpetrating violent crimes -- striking Nelson while he was videotaping this harangue and threatening both Nelson and Rilott with his pit bull – is precisely what Illinois has condemned as ‘hate crime.’”

On other occasions, Sterkeson has pushed Rilott, nearly knocking him off his feet, and he regularly harangues pro-life sidewalk counselors with racist epithets, anti-religious bigotry and homophobic slurs while the counselors are peaceably exercising their First Amendment rights on the public sidewalk outside the Rockford abortion clinic owned by co-defendant Wayne Webster.  The amended charges allege that Webster has monitored police radio calls and used his loudspeaker to warn Sterkeson to leave the scene when pro-lifers have called police, thus aiding and abetting Sterkeson’s crimes.

According to the Illinois Hate Crime statute, someone commits a hate crime when they commit assault or battery or other criminal acts motivated by “actual or perceived” bias against the race, religion, ancestry, gender, or sexual orientation of another individual or group.  A Hate Crime is a class 4 Felony for a first offense and up to a class 2 Felony for subsequent offense.  Victims of the criminal actions are entitled bring a civil lawsuit for damages, injunctions, attorney’s fees and related relief.  The court can award damages for emotional distress as well as punitive damages.  The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that such suits can be brought by victims even if they are not actually members of the reviled group (in this case, African-Americans, Christians and Roman Catholics, and homosexuals).

After viewing the video footage, TMS attorneys commented, “This is explosive, deeply troubling stuff but we mustn't cover it up or look the other way.  Instead, the best disinfectant is sunlight. Now that this egregious bias has come so glaringly to light, it must be confronted, condemned, punished, and suppressed.”

Contact: Tom Brejcha, Esq., Chief Counsel, Thomas More Society: 312-590-3408 cell, 312-782-1680