Shoshanna Utchenik
ticklethewire.com
Old expressions of hatred live on.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on Tuesday announced charges against A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man for burning a cross in 2010.
Authorities said that Ryan M. Held, aka Ryan M. Foley, 20, of Philipsburg, Penn., was indicted on March 27 by a federal grand jury for burning the cross outside the residence of a white woman who associated with an African-American male. The two-count indictment charges Held with violating the housing rights of the two victims by burning the cross for the purpose of threatening and intimidating the victims in order to interfere with their rights to occupy a dwelling free from racial discrimination.
If convicted, Held faces a max of 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Penn. State Police and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
