Illinois Attorney General files hate crime lawsuit against white mother and son accused of harassing Black neighbor

CHICAGO (CBS) — A mom and son in western Illinois are the 1st to be sued by the state for a loathe criminal offense under a 2018 enlargement of the state’s hate crime legislation.

Illinois Attorney Common Kwame Raoul’s place of work submitted the lawsuit towards Chad and Cheryl Hampton, who are each white. They are accused of harassing their Black neighbor, Gregory Johnson, in Savanna, Illinois, for many months.

“Our criticism alleges the defendants deliberately used the shameful record of lynching and racism in The usa to terrorize and instill anxiety in their subsequent-doorway neighbor basically because he is Black. No one should really be subjected to this variety of loathe,” Raoul reported in a statement.

The fit promises the Hamptons shown the racial slur n***** in entrance of a Accomplice flag in a window going through the victim’s home, displayed swastikas in immediate watch of the victim’s dwelling, and even employed a noose to hang an effigy of a Black gentleman built to resemble the target from a tree in front of his home.

“I appeared out of my new residence at a Black-confronted model shackled and lynched on a tree branch, the N-phrase scrawled upon a window, and swastikas,” Johnson explained in a assertion presented by Raoul’s office environment. “Our American flag was replaced with their Accomplice flag. Have we not come any farther than this? This lawsuit is about tearing off the shackles that even now restrain us to this day. It truly is about under no circumstances providing up on the mission of our United States Structure. We, as a nation, are improved than this.”

The lawsuit, submitted in Carroll County, seeks much more than $25,000 in damages against equally Chad and Cheryl Hampton.

Independently, Carroll County prosecutors have charged Chad Hampton with felony destruction of residence, and Cheryl Hampton with legal harassment of a witness.