KKK-hooded grocery shopper to face no charges

Last week, Crazy America reported on the disturbing case of a man in the San Diego suburb of Santee who put on a Ku Klux Klan style hood to go out grocery shopping.

Unsurprisingly, the unorthodox protective gear provoked outrage from local officials, civil rights groups and ordinary citizens alike.

Nonetheless, Crazy America wondered at the time whether the man’s motivation for donning the hateful KKK hood was simple bigotry, or a more complicated urge to lash out against the establishment during a time of COVID-19 enforced restrictions. We promised to find out more.

Now it seems that authorities in San Diego have determined that the man’s conduct does not meet the threshold required for criminal charges.

In a statement released on Monday, the San Diego Sherriff’s department said that there was “insufficient evidence” of anything other than protected free speech.

The man, who has not been named, walked into a Vons store in Santee, northeast of San Diego, on May 2 wearing the KKK hood. He was repeatedly asked by both Vons employees and some other customers to remove the hood, according to eye-witness accounts, and a statement that was released at the time by Vons. The man finally complied and continued shopping hunched over his cart.

After the mayor of Santee and other local officials expressed outrage, San Diego police got involved. They tracked the man down and questioned him about his motives.

“The man expressed frustration with the coronavirus and having people tell him what he can and cannot do,” the San Diego Sherriff’s department said in its statement. “He said that wearing the hood was not intended to be a racial statement. In summary, he said, ‘It was a mask and it was stupid.’ ”

After questioning the man, detectives discussed the matter with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, interviewed witnesses, scrutinized video and analyzed “all relevant criminal statutes,” the statement said. “As a result, it was determined there was insufficient evidence to charge the man who wore the Ku Klux Klan hood inside the store.”

They cited U.S. Supreme Court rulings that speech “that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express the thought that we hate.’ ”

However, police had a warning for anyone inspired to follow the horrible example of the KKK shopper.

“This incident should serve as a reminder for anyone contemplating wearing or displaying items so closely associated with hate and human suffering that our society does not hold in high regard those who do so,” the San Diego Sherriff’s Department statement said. “Santee is a city of families, and the community is rightfully disgusted at this man’s despicable behavior. The Sheriff’s Department thoroughly investigates incidents such as these and will hold those who violate the law accountable.”