An Idaho prosecutor has declined to pursue charges against a man who admitted to police he taunted Nelson youth soccer players with racial slurs during a tournament in May.
Local police were contacted after witnesses said a person in a truck shouted racist threats at players warming up for a game in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on May 12. A Nelson team, which had multiple players of colour, was on the field at the time of the incident.
A report by Coeur d'Alene Police Department obtained by the Nelson Star with a freedom of information request states the threats began shortly after a beige Dodge Ram truck was heard revving its engines while driving by the field. The truck slowed down as it passed, and a man began yelling "kill Blacks" from the passenger side while also using a racial slur before leaving the area.
In his report, Det. Mario Rios writes he spoke with the truck's driver who said his friend in the passenger seat was responsible for the slurs. That person later admitted to Rios he was responsible, that he had previously done something similar in the city's downtown area, but denied that he used the phrase "kill Blacks."
“He told me he was exercising his freedom of speech, never made any threats to harm anyone or target anyone but admitted to using the ’N word with a hard R.'”
Police recommended a charge of malicious harassment, but an attorney for City of Coeur d'Alene declined to pursue prosecution. The attorney's office did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Nelson Soccer Association declined to comment on the prosecutor's decision or if its teams would continue to compete in Idaho. The organization said it is waiting for guidance on the matter from the sport's provincial governing body BC Soccer as well as Canada Soccer. It is also reviewing its own policies related to incident reporting as well as staff and volunteer training.
“NSA condemns all forms of racism and we are committed to providing a safe space for all participants.”
BC Soccer CEO Gabriel Assis said in an email that the incident will be included in a BC Soccer's policy review, but did not say if the organization will allow teams to take part in Coeur d'Alene's Bill Eisenwinter Hotshot Tournament next May, if it had corresponded with the Coeur d'Alene youth soccer organization Sting FC, and what internal recourse exists for members forced to deal with abusive spectators.
“As an event outside the jurisdiction of BC Soccer, our focus will be on the identification and clear outline of procedures for our teams while attending activities outside of Canada.”
Sting FC organizes the tournament. In an email to the Nelson Star, club president Melissa Dodge said she is newly elected and only recently learned of the incident.
"Our club has a no-tolerance policy regarding this deplorable behaviour. We do not, nor have we ever, condoned this kind of behaviour."
Hate speech difficult to prosecute
At least three incidents of people being targeted with racial slurs have occurred in Coeur d'Alene this year, but none have led to charges.
In March, a Utah women's NCAA basketball team said its players were threatened by people in a vehicle who shouted racial epithets. (The incident is not connected to the one involving Nelson players.) Students at Coeur d'Alene Tribal School also reported racial harassment in May.
The City of Coeur d'Alene passed a new municipal hate crime law in July that adds a misdemeanour charge to anyone found guilty of hate speech. The citation can include fines, jail time, community service and other civic penalties.
But that charge can only come after a successful prosecution, which can be difficult in the United States where the right to hate speech is protected by the constitution.
In Idaho, a malicious harassment charge is defined as "maliciously and with the specific intent to intimidate or harass another person because of that person’s race, colour, religion, ancestry, or national origin, to: (a) Cause physical injury to another person; or (b) Damage, destroy, or deface any real or personal property of another person; or (c) Threaten, by word or act, to do the acts prohibited if there is reasonable cause to believe that any of the acts described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section will occur."
Tony Stewart of the Coeur d'Alene-based Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations said the key word in the definition of malicious harassment is "threaten." A threat of violence using hate speech isn't protected by the First Amendment, but proving an intent to harm can be difficult.
Stewart cited a previous case when a man had told a person of colour to leave town or be killed.
“That case is easy to win. The verbiage he used crossed the line, saying, ‘I’m going to kill you.’ And the young man who yelled at the [Utah] basketball players as he drove by, he just said the N-word and left. That's a case you can't win. ...
“That's what's frustrating us beyond anything here, because there is a concerted effort in a number of incidences where they just drive by and they yell the N-word, and it's happened quite often.”
