January 18, 2005
Hate crime targets display
Un-Constitutional 'Hate Crimes Law' used to charge four
pro-aborts for 'Vandalizim and Destruction Of Property'
3,000 pro-life crosses knocked overREDDING, California -- Four men were charged with a hate crime Monday after allegedly knocking down almost 3,000 white crosses erected by local Christian organizations to symbolize the country's daily abortion rate.
The Hilltop Drive demonstration, in a grassy lot next to Christian Life Center, was vandalized about 3 a.m. Monday, project construction coordinator Steve Fitch said.
"They tore them out of the ground. They threw some of them over the fence and onto the freeway," he said.
A pager led Redding police to arrest friends Michael Lane, 19, of Redding, Clayton Heath, 20, of Anderson, Brian Fitzgerald, 20, of Chico, and Aaron Krzywicki, 20, of Santa Rosa.
The four were booked Monday at the Shasta County jail on suspicion of felony vandalism and a misdemeanor civil rights violation, Sgt. Roger Moore said. No more arrests are expected.
"It is a hate crime. Anytime you infringe on people's civil rights, it's a hate crime," Moore said.
Damaging property to intimidate or interfere with civil rights based on a person's race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender or sexual orientation, real or perceived, is illegal, he said.
In this case, "It's a religiously based display," Moore said.
About 110 volunteers from church-based schools and church-related groups took three hours Saturday to plant the crosses in the spot near Browning Street, Fitch said. They included students from Bishop Quinn High School, Liberty Christian High School and Simpson University, and representatives of CareNet Pregnancy Center of Tri-Counties, the Good News Rescue Mission and Pray Northstate. Christian Life Center provided the land.
The display was meant to peacefully illustrate the number of abortions done in the United States each day: about 3,000 according to statistics cited by the groups, said Rain Mahan, director of the Life Light Pregnancy Help Center.
"To see that many crosses together, it does make an impact," she said.
Eight-foot-long vinyl signs that read "Abortions done per day in the U.S.A." were also slashed and knocked down, Mahan said.
Last year, the groups posted crosses in a field along Interstate 5 south of Knighton Road. This year's display was much more visible, as well as accessible, she said.
"We knew when we went to that site that there would be more potential for vandalism, for sure," Mahan said.
Monday, drivers pulled over after spotting the downed crosses.
"People were stopping on the road and offering to help this morning. A lot of people were very upset," Fitch said.
The damage is estimated to exceed $600 in materials alone, Moore said. Building and painting the 3-foot-high crosses took about two months, Fitch said.
"You've got about 2,000 hours of labor into the crosses," he said.
Monday night, Fitch said he hoped to schedule volunteers on an all-night patrol to prevent more vandalism. Organizers hope to reconstruct the display Thursday afternoon, and anyone can help, he said.
Mahan said there is no plan to end the demonstration any sooner than the previously planned Jan. 29 date.
"This message really needs to be out there," she said. "I know the truth always hurts, but people need to know."
http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_local/ar
ticle/0,2232,REDD_17533_3478299,00.html
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