ILLINOIS PURSUES HATE CRIMES CHARGES AGAINST TEEN
By Rev. Ted Pike
7 May 08
The State of Illinois has indicted 18-year-old Brett Van Asdlen for
the "hate crime" of pu****ng a homo***ual, Steven Velasquez, backward
to the ground, allegedly causing trauma. Under Illinois' enhanced hate
crimes penalties, Brett is charged with a Class 4 felony, punishable
by up to three years in prison.
WCIA-TV News in Champaign, Illinois and numerous homo***ual websites
quote Velasquez's claim that Brett, with no provocation, verbally
abused him. Velasquez charges that he was then violently attacked
because of his ***ual orientation.
As I related in my April 30 alert, "Christian Teen Arrested for 'Hate
Crime'," Brett's side of the story is very different. Brett's mother,
desperate to counter what she considered vicious media lies, called me
and poured out her heart. Here is my resume of what she told me,
quoting my April 30 alert:
on April 12, he [Brett] and a friend saw two homo***uals leaning on
each other and holding hands, walking toward them on the sidewalk.
'Look at those two guys holding hands,' Brett said to his friend and
walked past them
the next thing he knew, one of the homo***uals
(whom he perceived to be drunk) had grabbed him by the shoulder,
putting his face up to Brett's and repeatedly shouting, 'What did you
say?' Brett told him to go away several times and then pushed him. The
homo***ual fell over backwards. On his back, the homo***ual told his
partner to call the police. In 8 minutes, four officers arrived. Two
interviewed Brett and his friend and assured them there would be no
problem. Brett had been physically accosted and detained, clearly an
assault. The other two officers interviewed the homo***ual, who was
taken to the hospital.
Brett told his parents that, contrary to prevailing media re****ts,
Velasquez did not lose consciousness before being taken to the
hospital.
Avalanche of Protest
On Thursday May 1, Brett was indicted in open court. Yesterday, May 6,
the judge set July 1 as the preliminary hearing that may allow the
state to present its case against him.
In last week's e-alert, I called for telephone protest to the district
attorney, chief of police, and mayor of Champaign. The following day,
overwhelming response from my subscribers swamped the phone lines to
Champaign city government. This protest continues, augmented by right
wing and free speech websites that posted my article. Many local
residents who know Brett as a gentle and considerate Christian teen,
including members of his church, are also calling in outrage.
Brett's lawyer has vehemently forbidden the Van Asdlen family to
discuss the case publicly. I and other Christian/conservative media,
including Peter La Barbara's Americans for Truth, disagree with this
strategy. (Read Peter's excellent on-the-scene analysis.) Considering
the legal and media forces against Brett, we believe his plight should
receive as much publicity as possible. The popular and homo***ual
media are already convicting Brett in the court of public opinion.
They are teaching the public as fact that Brett is a hate criminal.
Massive protest must still descend on District Attorney Julia Reitz at
(217) 384-3733. Ask her to drop her unfounded hate crimes indictment.
Lovers of freedom should also protest to WCIA-TV News, which has
already aired at least two inflammatory, one-sided stories against
Brett. Although they recently published a brief article giving Brett's
attorney a few lines, their journalistic ethics are in the gutter.
Call WCIA-TV at (217) 373-3650.
Save a Life
Brett is a clean and aspiring young Christian teen at the beginning of
his life. He is a talented athlete awarded a baseball scholar****p.
(Brett proved himself runner-up Most Valuable Player.)
Unless we sup****t him vocally, there is an excellent chance he could
face up to three years in prison. The rest of his life would be
blighted with a felony conviction as a "hate criminal." He would be
barred from voting. The possibility of a career in professional s****ts
or even as a coach would be seriously impaired. Suspended from the
baseball team because of his arrest and facing possible imprisonment,
with his future in jeopardy, Brett is already suffering punishment.
What about his parents? Mrs. Van Asdlen told me her husband is
"devastated" at what is happening to his son. In addition to $10,000
bail they have already put up (and undoubtedly a similar retainer fee
to their lawyer), she says they may have to pay at least $40,000 to
defend Brett. (In Canada, legal costs against a hate crimes charge
average $170-200,000.)
Similar Case in Philadelphia
In October 2004 I encountered a very similar situation in
Philadelphia. Having appeared on several radio broadcasts with Michael
Marcavage of Repent America, I helped give exposure to his unjust
arrest and persecution by the local Landsdowne City Council -- for
publicly reading the Bible in a town council meeting! Next thing I
knew, Philadelphia D.A. Lynne Abraham, in collusion with Chief of
Police Tiano, arrested Michael and ten other Christians for the "hate
crime" of peacefully witnessing and singing a hymn to homo***uals
during Philadelphia's "Out Fest" gay pride event. Penalty: 47 years in
prison and $90,000 fine each.
Immediately, I booked Michael on many more national talk shows with
me. I coined the term "Philadelphia 11" and did at least 100
interviews in the fall of 2004. Michael and his lawyers also did many.
Even though the largest new right organizations were agonizingly slow
in effectively bringing this outrage to public attention, we
compensated for their inaction and let the whole world know that 11
beleaguered Christians in Philadelphia were now threatened with
imprisonment for peacefully sharing the Gospel.
In short, the national and international protest we helped generate so
wearied the Philadelphia prosecution that Lynne Abraham was
undoubtedly relieved when, after receiving a tongue-la****ng from a
higher court, her case was thrown out.
We Can Win in Champaign
The same can happen in Champaign, Illinois. Lovers of freedom must
continue to protest this outrage. The homo***ual lobby and TV media in
Illinois are already showing powerful determination to make up the
public's mind. You must counter it with protest and truth.
Fortunately, before Brett's lawyer was able to force a blackout on
comments by the Van Asdlens, Brett's mother gave me a very detailed
account of what happened, as Brett had related it to her. After
writing my April 30 account of Brett's side of the story, I faxed it
to Mr. and Mrs. Van Asdlen. They told me it was perfectly accurate and
encouraged me to distribute it widely. Until the preliminary hearing
on July 1, my article may be virtually all the public will know of
what really happened the night of April 12.
But that's enough. As controversy heats up, the salient facts to
remember are that Brett's comment concerning the homo***uals (whatever
it was) was made to his friend, not to the homo***ual. Brett was
accosted, entitling him to push his assailant away. Even if Brett had
used "hate speech" and physically assaulted Velasquez, that should be
considered a misdemeanor. A police officer told the Van Asdlens that
similar "disorderly conduct" occurs at least 30 times every night on
the large campuses of Illinois, usually without charges being filed.
But now, under the triple penalty hate crimes system, a misdemeanor is
elevated to a felony - a crime against society, possibly putting a
teenager behind bars for three years.
Why protest the Van Asdlen indictment? Because, under accelerating
local and state hate crimes arrests, the next "hate criminal" the
media vilifies may be your son or daughter
or you.
Rev. Ted Pike is director of the National Prayer Network, a
Christian/conservative watchdog organization.
Let the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith teach you how they have
saddled 45 states with hate laws capable of persecuting Christians:
http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/intro.asp.
Learn how ADL took away free speech in Canada and wants to steal it
now in the U.S. Congress. Watch Rev. Ted Pike's Hate Laws: Making
Criminals of Christians at video.google.com. Purchase this gripping
do***entary to show at church. Order online at www.truthtellers.org
for $24.90, DVD or VHS, by calling 503-853-3688, or at the address
below.
TALK SHOW HOSTS: Interview Rev. Ted Pike on this topic. Call (503)
631-3808.
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