Originally at wecanstopthehate.org
This summer, several death threats were made to the staff and board of CASA of Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group and Affiliate of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).
According to the police report, the first call made to CASA staff member Mario Quiroz's cell phone threatened, "You shouldn't be surprised if your places start blowing up in pieces."
The second call made to the organization's 1-800 number consisted of a threatening message in which six of the 19 words were obscenities. The caller said that it wouldn't be a surprise if one of their facilities were blown up.
The third call was made to the vice president of the CASA board of directors, Reverend Simón Bautista, to a number he uses for his work with the Episcopal Dioceses of Washington. "Don't be surprised when there's a [expletive] bullet in the back of your [expletive] brain," said the voice message.
Subsequent to an investigation of the calls-conducted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI and the Montgomery County Police-Wesley J. Queen II was arrested. He is facing counts of threatening to use an incendiary device and for making phone threats. During a hearing, Queen denied making the calls.
The death threats that CASA received are alarming. However, even more disturbing is the stark reality that they are not isolated.
As I blogged earlier this month, a man was convicted just a few weeks ago for death threats he made to NCLR and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. These death threats are part of a larger crisis that we are facing as a country. We must stand up to the hate speech and hate crimes in this nation. We must remain steadfast and respond swiftly to hate speech to show that it will not be tolerated. NCLR is working to do its part through www.WeCanStopTheHate. Join our efforts. Sign up for our action alerts and help make a difference.
To read more about the threats to CASA:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/15/ST2008101500165.html
To read the story on the death threat made to NCLR:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kety-esquivel/nclr-death-threat-punishe_b_131057.html