Northern Idaho Man Charged With Hate Crime

A Coeur d’Alene man has been charged with felony malicious harassment – Idaho’s hate crime law – after police said he used racial slurs and threatened to beat up an African American man for walking on his property.

The Coeur d’Alene Press (http://bit.ly/oVJeaN) reports 29 -year-old Joel T. Diekhoff made his first appearance on the charge in 1st District Magistrate Court Monday, where his bond was set at $50,000 and he was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim, 39-year-old Demetrius Lee.

According to police reports, Lee told officers he was walking by Diekhoff’s apartment when Diekhoff swore at him and asked him if he was lost. According to the police reports the two ended up in a verbal confrontation.

Diekhoff is described as having a swastika tattoo

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Information from: Coeur d’Alene Press, http://www.cdapress.com