Two men admit painting "white power" and swastika

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » September 29th, 2005, 6:50 pm

Two men admit painting "white power" and swastika outside school

By JULIET WILLIAMS

The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO

Two men pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to spray-painting a swastika and a "white power" sign outside a racially diverse alternative high school in an effort to intimidate students.

Jared Orest Giampaoli, 20, and Steven Foster-Little, 19, were accused of spraying a 20-foot tall swastika outside the only entrance to Butte View High School in Sutter on Sept. 11, 2004.

They also painted a giant lightning bolt and the number 23 which corresponds to W in the alphabet, meant to symbolize white power, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez. The men dotted the "i" in "white power" with a smaller swastika.

The two, wearing khaki clothing and close-cropped hair, pleaded guilty to charges of interfering with federally protected rights and aiding and abetting as part of a plea agreement in which Rodriguez agreed she would not seek prison time for the two if probation officials recommend home confinement or another sentence within the federal guidelines.

The charge carries a possible penalty of up to a year in prison and $100,000 in fines.

Rodriguez said Thursday that the graffiti was just one of many threats at the school in August and September of 2004, in which a group of young men yelled racial epithets at students and challenged them to fights.

"Those who started school that year were intimidated," Rodriguez said. "At least one African-American student left the school."

The plea agreement said the Sutter men and their associates wore their heads shaved and greeted each other with Nazi salutes. It said they often yelled "white power" out of car windows as they drove and threatened students during breaks.

The two were charged with interfering with the right of every person to attend a public school, regardless of their race, religion or national origin.

Bud Myers, director of Butte View High School, did not want to comment on the incident, but said there have been no problems since. He said the ethnically diverse school has about 30 students who attend because they lack enough credits to graduate.

Attorneys for the men asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter A. Nowinski to release the men before their Dec. 8 sentencing. They said the two have stayed out of trouble since the incident.

Nowinski agreed to release them, but cautioned that he was not bound by the plea agreement and noted that the charges are significant.

"He and his associates terrorized minority members of this community for a substantial period," Nowinski told Giampaoli's attorney, Candace Fry.

Foster-Little told officers when he was arrested that he and his friends were drunk and were being stupid, said his attorney, Dennis Waks. He said Foster-Little has always been apologetic about what happened.

The two agreed in their pleas to pay full restitution to the school district for cleaning up the graffiti. An amount was not specified.

The case was referred to the FBI by Sutter County Sheriff Jim Denney.

Published: Thursday, September 29, 2005 18:02 PDT

http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California2/C ... 81CA.shtml

Unread post by **Christina Marie** » September 29th, 2005, 6:55 pm

Its little punks like this that almost make me ashamed to be white. Why can't we all just get along?