A Michigan man has been hit with federal hate crime charges after he allegedly harassed Black Lives Matter supporters with racist messages and nooses.
According the United States Department of Justice, 61-year-old Kenneth Pilon began terrorizing his community members in June 2020, just weeks after the police killing of George Floyd. Investigators say Pilon had called nine Michigan Starbucks stores and ordered the person who answered the phone to “tell all the employees wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts that the only good n****r is a dead n****r.” He is also accused of telling one of the workers he was “gonna go out and lynch me a n*****.”
Authorities say Pilon spent the next month leaving multiple nooses around town—four in parking lots and one inside a 7-Eleven. Each of the nooses was accompanied by a handwritten note that read: “An accessory to be worn with your ‘BLM’ t-shirt. Happy protesting!”
Pilon is also accused of leaving a noose and note inside a car owned by Regina Simon and Donald Simon.
“When he got into his truck, [Donald] noticed in the side of the door was this noose with a note attached to it,” Regina told NBC News earlier this week. “At first I’m thinking it’s a joke, somebody trying to be funny, but then I’m like this isn’t funny.”
“I can’t understand that this racism is still alive,” Donald added
Pilon is charged with six counts of interfering with federally protected activities, which is a misdemeanor hate crime. Each count could result in a fine and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
