Four activists accused of fighting with police during a raucous immigration protest in Arlington Heights were sentenced Tuesday to court supervision and community service work after they pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery.But once they stepped outside the Cook County courtroom, the four Chicago residents quickly claimed victory and denied any wrongdoing during last fall's demonstration. "We did nothing wrong on Oct. 15," said Cindy Gomez, one of the activists who accepted the plea deal with prosecutors to avoid a trial. "We stand by everything we did."
"We feel the agreement we came to was an important victory,'' added Kara Norlander, another of the demonstrators arrested last fall as they protested outside a meeting of the Chicago Minutemen Project.
The guilty pleas may not end the legal action stemming from the demonstration. Rehana Khan, one of the activists, is weighing a civil lawsuit against Arlington Heights, saying that while arresting her, police officers forcibly removed her religious head scarf.
| Any chance of filing a suit against these mooks? |
| Not in progressive la-la land; they spoke truth to power, y'know. |
| So take the plea bargain off the table and go to trial. |
Critics say the group -- which provides volunteers to patrol the nation's borders -- is a racist organization that encourages vigilante action against immigrants crossing into the United States from Mexico.
| More intelligent, sane people say the Minutemen are patriots and volunteers who are calling attention to a festering issue. |
In the plea bargain, Gomez, Norlander, Khan and Zenke pleading guilty to battery, while prosecutors agreed to drop the resisting arrest charges. Judge Hyman Riebman sentenced each to one year of court supervision and ordered each to do 240 hours of community service work. They had faced a maximum sentence of a year in jail.
| For the community service, have them help build the fence. |
Khan, a college student, said she felt her "religious rights'' were violated when officers removed the hijab, or religious head scarf, she was wearing during the protest. "It is very disrespecting,'' she said.
Arlington Heights police defended their handling of the protest and said Khan's head scarf had to be removed as a security precaution because it could have covered a weapon or dangerous object. "We're pleased with the way our officers responded,'' Capt. Jerry Lambert said.
You're not the only one, Captain Lambert. Keep up the good work, officers.