Hate Crime at Laguna Beach Day Labor Center

by Watchale Tuesday, Sep. 19, 2006 at 3:06 AM

Two white men were held on suspicion of attempted murder and committing a hate crime Sunday at the Laguna Beach Day Labor Center.

Hate Crime at Laguna...
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Hate Crime at Laguna Beach Day Labor Center

Two white men were held on suspicion of attempted murder and committing a hate crime Sunday at the Laguna Beach Day Labor Center, site of numerous anti-day laborer protests by the hate groups Save Our State and The Minuteman Project.

Two day laborers were injured when they were hit by a car driven by Artem Soloviev, who, along with his passenger, Dennis Katpilniy, allegedly shouted racial epithets as they sped through the day labor center, striking and slightly injuring two laborers, and damaging several tables and a fence, after earlier breaking the nose of another laborer who had refused to work for them on a digging project at Soloviev's house.

Workers were forced to leap from the path of the car as sped through the area.

Police described the injuries to the workers struck by the vehicle as minor, and neither victim was hospitalized. The man injured in the earlier assault was treated for a broken nose.

Jim Gilchrist of the Minuteman Project was uncertain if the assailants were members of his organization, distancing himself from the attacks by claiming the Minutemen will not endorse a member "who steps out of those bounds and engages in vandalism and violence.”

With the heat on Gilchrist reaction on the Save Our State online forum was predictable:

“Richie” wrote “How do you miss with a car?”

“Cat patrol” said “You can bet that the "poor victims" have already contacted lawyers.”

I can see it now: "If only the city of Laguna Beach had proper security on the site, this racist attack never would have happened", they will cry.

“Ghost” wrote “I'm sending a letter (and making a phone call) to Caltrans first thing in the morning to say "I TOLD YOU SO!" They had a chance to shut this thing down when it was discovered to be operating illegally, but they decided to allow the site to remain open and now WE taxpayers are going to pay for this lawsuit.”

“Fed up in la” claimed “I'm not buying it. We know how the illegals like to stretch the truth.”

Meanwhile, “Bryan in oc” blamed the day laborers for the assault against them, “*Waitaminute....IF these payassos [clowns] didn't want a DAY LABOR JOB, then WTF reason did they have for BEING there in the 1st place?”

There was no response from SOS leadership.