Minnesota man charged with stag carcasses on Somali cars, but no hate crime

November 29, 2018 / 14:20 GMT / Update 14:38 GMT

By Associated press

ST. CLOUD, Minnesota – Prosecutors have accused a man from central Minnesota of a blatant crime on Wednesday but not of a hate crime for allegedly having thrown bloody carcasses of deer on the hood of two cars owned by Americans of Somali origin.

The Stearns County Attorney's Office accused Daniel Dorian Knowlen, 62, of St. Cloud, of contributing to the delinquency of a child. The charge is punishable by up to one year 's imprisonment and $ 3,000 fine.

The complaint alleges that Knowlen saw his 14-year-old son unload the stripped carcasses of their pickups from the cars parked in front of a YMCA in St. Cloud, a town of about 65,000 inhabitants about 65 miles north-west of the city. West of Minneapolis, the night of 14. Watch video followed on the pair.

Knowlen first denied being at the YMCA the night before, but when he learned that there was a video surveillance, he acknowledged being present with his son, the complaint said. .

According to the complaint, Knowlen reportedly told the police that it was "just to be funny" but acknowledged that he "probably could have" arrested his son. Knowlen said that he did not know who owned the cars and was not trying to target the drivers. Knowlen also acknowledged that he and his son had licenses for deer. The boy was asked if he had any explanation about these acts but answered no, according to the complaint.

One of the Somalis told the authorities that he feared that the deer would be a message stating that he was not wanted in the community, and said the deer carcass had probably been placed by a hunter and hunters were carrying guns. The two Somalis reported that they had not experienced any harassment or other altercation during their stay at the YMCA. Police said that there was no identification mark indicating the identity of the owner of the cars, which were both parked legally and not encroaching on any another parking space.

Authorities indicated that placing deer carcasses on foreign cars parked at the YMCA – discovered by other people – constituted disorderly behavior and that the act was also a tampering. A motor vehicle. These actions contributed to the delinquency of Knowlen's son, the complaint said.

Executive Director Jaylani Hussein of the Minnesota section of the Council on Islamic Relations, an organization defending civil liberties and Muslim civil liberties, said Wednesday that his group welcomed the accusation of misdemeanor against the father but was disappointed that a hate crime was not added to the charges. .

"I just think it was not just a joke, it seems like it was something where they … were trying to send a form of intimidation," Jaylani told The Associated. Press. "A carcass is not something to be taken lightly, it is a symbol of death, violence."

Messages left at the prosecutor's office were not immediately returned Wednesday night. The court records do not mention any Knowlen lawyers.

Minnesota is home to the country's largest Somali population, estimated at 57,000. No less than 10,000 of them settled in Saint-Cloud and its surroundings.