Originally posted at wecanstopthehate.org
Two years ago, Jordan Gruver, an American citizen, was the victim of a racist attack. Last Friday, a jury awarded Gruver $2.5 million from Imperial Wizard Ron Edwards, leader of the Imperial Klans of America, and former Klansman Jared Hensley. Edwards, the leader of what is believed to be the second largest KKK faction in the United States, and Hensley are being held responsible for the attack against then 16-year-old Gruver.
Gruver was attacked by Klansmen at a Kentucky fair in 2006. He was in line at a concession stand at the Meade County Fair when two Klansmen, Andrew Watkins and Hensley, threw whiskey in his face. One of the men proceeded to punch him in the face and knock him down. "All I could do was curl up like a baby," Gruver said. He was kicked with the Klansmen's steel-toed boots, which broke his jaw and ribs. "I felt like there's a thousand people hitting me. They kicked me so many times, and so fast, that I could say I saw eight people there. I saw eight pairs of feet," he said. During the attack, members of the Imperial Klans of America called him a "spic" and "illegal immigrant." Gruver was born in the United States.
According to testimony presented at trial, Hensley told police, "He's a spic, he's illegal, why are you arresting me?" Hensley has denied having said this.
Hensley told ABC News, "We have all these nonwhites that come to our country and leech off what we built and created and they take it and try to use it for their own benefits. If something goes against you, then violence usually takes care of it. You have to do violence. Violence has been in America since the beginning of time."
Gruver says that the attack has left him afraid of leaving his house. The attack left him broken not only physically but also emotionally. One year after this attack, he attempted to kill himself. "I was alive, then I died, but I survived," he said.
Hensley and Watkins were sentenced to three years in prison for attacking Gruver. Watkins and a former Klan "exalted Cyclops" agreed to confidential settlements with Gruver.
Gruver's case is one of several lawsuits which have been brought against hate groups throughout the country in an effort to bankrupt and cripple them. Edwards' response? "No matter what, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be doing the same thing today as I'm going to do tomorrow," he said.
Read the full story at http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6270127&page=1.