Citing then-Gov. LePage's racist remark, hate crimes defendant said he expected acquittal

[jpak]

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/03/09/hate-crimes-defendant-cited-then-gov-lepages-racial-remarks/

A rare federal hate crimes trial in Maine is close to wrapping up, but not before a racist quote from former Gov. Paul LePage entered the record.

Maurice Diggins is charged with two counts of hate crimes and one count of conspiracy in connection with what prosecutors describe as racially motivated attacks on black men in Portland and Biddeford in 2018. His nephew, Dusty Leo, faced similar charges, but late last month pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy and one count of a hate crime. He has not yet been sentenced.

During testimony Monday, Diggins was heard in a tape-recorded conversation telling his wife, Tessa Dennison, that he believed he would be acquitted. Diggins, who was in jail at the time, suggested that many Mainers share the racial views of LePage and that would protect him from being found guilty of a hate crime.

“Listen to Gov. LePage,” Diggins said, referring to comments the governor made in early 2016 about drug dealers from Connecticut and New York coming to Maine sell drugs and impregnate “white girls.

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[marble falls]

1. Certainlay answers the question of whether an official's words can set off or justify racist ...

crimes or not in the minds of perpetrators.

[gratuitous]

2. Uh oh, has Sen. Collins been notified?

The Great Furrowed Brow of Concern was all agog at the return of Gov. LePage just last month:

https://mainebeacon.com/collins-welcomes-lepage-back-to-maine-politics-defends-tax-breaks-for-wealthy/

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

3. Wow! The next so called journalist who refers to this hack as some sort of "moderate", should

get slapped in the face with a 10 day old fish.