August 29, 2001

6:59 AM

After a Klan rally at the capital in St. Paul, two twenty-something men decide to go out and beat up a 4-year old. what the f@#$%?
posted by jnthnjng (17 comments total)

what the f@#$%?

I could say the same thing about them being Klan members.
posted by daveadams at 7:17 AM on August 29, 2001

More accurate summary of this story: Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom wants the publicity associated with a hate-crime case. One of the assailants lives with the four-year-old, is dating his mother, and taught him how to ride a bike and fish. It may be a child-abuse case (though it appears the injuries did not require a hospital visit), but a hate crime that merits $50,000 bail?
posted by rcade at 7:20 AM on August 29, 2001

Remember when "Klan" mean "the South"... not so much anymore.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 7:20 AM on August 29, 2001

Michael J. Pigg, 19, of St. Paul and Jarod L. Sparks, 25, of Inver Grove Heights are each charged with two felony counts of bias-motivated harassment and one count of fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor. Pigg also is charged with property damage for allegedly biting off a piece of a police car seat after his arrest.

OK, first, his name is Pigg. Second, any person who bites a piece of the police car has many many problems besides just being part of the Klan.
posted by bob bisquick at 7:44 AM on August 29, 2001

my only thought was "a 4-yr-old riding a bike without training wheels? that kid is advanced."

i think i couldn't ride without training wheels until i was about 6 or 7.
posted by meep at 8:04 AM on August 29, 2001

i still can't...
posted by lotsofno at 8:07 AM on August 29, 2001

The reassuring part is that when the klan had their rally they had about 40 people show up. The anti klan rally had about 1200 people show up despite the fact that the authorities and the media were trying to get people not to go.
posted by chrismc at 8:09 AM on August 29, 2001

Disgusting. I blame it on Planet of the Apes.
posted by jacknose at 8:20 AM on August 29, 2001

That kid was clearly asking for it.
posted by preguicoso at 8:33 AM on August 29, 2001

"Remember when "Klan" mean "the South"... not so much anymore." there has been klan in the north for 100 years
posted by clavdivs at 9:10 AM on August 29, 2001

Michael Jordan, spokesman for the St. Paul Police Department, also said he is unaware of any other Klan-related crimes.

Now I know why Mike is not coming back to play ball. He is too busy moonlighting as a spokesman for the police in St. Paul.
posted by Stretch at 9:58 AM on August 29, 2001

hate-crime induced child abuse? that guy is a winner. hope he has fun in jail. hope hope hope his girlfriend has the sense to get as far away from him as possible.
posted by th3ph17 at 10:36 AM on August 29, 2001

Boy I hope they feel like Really Big Men for beating up a little kid. What morons.

And another example of the statistic that a kid is most likely to be abused by a male non relative living in the same home (read: mom's screw).
posted by ilsa at 10:45 AM on August 29, 2001

look at the way she was dressed! she was asking for it!
posted by jcterminal at 6:30 PM on August 29, 2001

I'm totally disgusted...but I'm also disturbingly not surprised by this kind of behavior from anyone who would attend a Klan rally.
posted by bas67 at 8:20 PM on August 29, 2001

Surprised? Definitely not. Disgusted? Beyond belief.

This is what came to mind when I read the KKK article - don't ask me why I equated the mentality.
posted by soynuts at 8:50 PM on August 29, 2001

I just don't trust this story and it's facts... however disturbing they may be. Sure it COULD have happened this way, but I fear the story has been sensationalized... I don't see conspiracy around every corner, but I just don't trust cops all that much either...what I trust even less, is anything I hear from any news media.

Most news media operates under the "make a big deal out of everything" philosophy, which guarantees that they never miss a big story, or "under-report" one.
posted by canoeguide at 12:44 AM on August 30, 2001