MI Man Charged With Hate Crimes For Nooses, Lynching Threats At Starbucks

One piping hot Venti cup of rancid racism, coming right up!

Source: Andrew Lichtenstein / Getty

For people so desperate to erase this country’s racist past, these bitter bigots sure know how to take a page out of the history books they want to be banned. When Karens aren’t spraining their phone-dialing fingers to call the police on innocent Black people, their counterparts spice it up with some old-fashioned nooses and lynching threats. NBC News reports Kenneth Pilon was charged with hate crimes for terrorizing the people of Saginaw, Michigan since the George Floyd protests started in June of 2020.

The United States Department of Justice charged the 61-year-old with six counts of interfering with federally protected activities by stalking and intimidating local Black Lives Matter supporters. How racist do you have to be to catch a case when Michigan cops barely get a slap on the wrist for killing unarmed Black people in cold blood? Well, instead of run-of-the-mill racist posts online, Pilon went above and beyond to hand-deliver the hate by leaving racist messages and props all over town.

According to police, Pilon was left nooses and notes that said, “An accessory to be worn with your ‘BLM’ t-shirt. Happy protesting!” all over town, including in a Goodwill parking lot, inside a beverage cooler at a 7-Eleven, and in a Walmart parking lot.

Even a White and Mexican woman named Regina Simon says she was one of the many victims targeted by Pilon because her husband at the time Donald Simon was Black and she believes the deranged deplorable spotted her in a BLM shirt. The day after she wore it, Simon found one of the nooses and notes inside her car.

“When he got into his truck, he noticed in the side of the door was this noose with a note attached to it,” she said Wednesday. “At first I’m thinking it’s a joke, somebody trying to be funny, but then I’m like this isn’t funny. I can’t understand that this racism is still alive.”

Starbucks was criticized for addressing racism with empty gestures when the company announced it would provide BLM t-shirts to any employees who wanted one, but that was enough for Pilon to throw more trifling tantrums. The coffee chain isn’t exactly the Black Panther Party headquarters. In fact, the shirt giveaway came after backlash because Starbucks banned BLM gear when protests reignited after George Floyd was killed. Still, the police affidavit states that after the bare minimum gesture, Pilon harassed Starbucks staff with menacing phone calls.

“Tell the Starbucks workers wearing Black Lives Matter shirts that the only good n-word is a dead n-word,” Pilon reportedly said to one of the employees. He told another that he didn’t like the new shirts and said he was, “gonna go out and lynch me a n-word.”

How much time did this guy have on his hands? Federal authorities assert that Pilon wanted to intimidate anti-racism supporters “from participating lawfully in speech and peaceful assembly opposing the denial of Black people’s right to enjoy police protection and services free from brutality.”

Pilon could either face a fine or up to six years behind bars, one for each of the misdemeanor hate crime charges against him.