Free Republic

The Chicago man accused of burning a cross in Grant Park last week made his first court appearance on Thursday, as a judge denied prosecutors' request to keep him locked up until trial. Merlin Lu, 21, is charged with two felony counts of hate crime, one felony count of property damage, one felony count of arson, and additional misdemeanor charges including disorderly conduct and burning a cross to intimidate. At his first court appearance on Thursday, Cook County prosecutors sought to have him detained while he awaits trial, but the judge said the state failed to show what he did...

A 21-year-old leftist college student is in custody after admitting to burning a cross in Chicago’s Grant Park, saying it was a protest against the Trump administration — an act that sparked outrage from Democrats who initially called it the “seeds of racism and fascism.” The incident first flared up on June 9. A disturbing video showed a wooden cross burning at Grant Park in Chicago. Firefighters extinguished the flames and police released photos of a “person of interest” fleeing the scene, per ABC 7. With no suspect in custody, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential presidential contender, rushed...