A man is facing hate crime charges for making threats against immigrants and Latino residents of the far north suburbs, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office.
Derek Webb faces a felony charge for hate crime and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, according to the office. Webb is accused of making threats against Latino and immigrant community members and posting a bullseye sign with “Good Shot ICE” written over it.
The Waukegan Police Department, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Gurnee Police Department and the Lindenhurst Police Department were said to have collected evidence across “dozens of scenes,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart. Federal law enforcement was also consulted during the investigation for “threat assessment.”
“Clear threats of physical violence that are motivated by hatred, bias, or racism must be strongly condemned in the community and responded to by the legal system,” Rinehart said in a statement. “True threats are not protected by free speech, and they are particularly dangerous when they are directed towards groups who are historically and wrongfully attacked.”
Webb was due in court Wednesday.