‘SYMBOL OF HATRED’

Eye Doctor Lands in Federal Prison for ‘Terrorizing’ Starbucks’ BLM Supporters, Leaving Nooses

The optometrist left nooses around Michigan parking lots and at a 7-Eleven.

A Michigan eye doctor has been sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for intimidating Black Lives Matter protesters during the George Floyd demonstrations in 2020. Kenneth D. Pilon, of Saginaw, admitted that he called nine Starbucks locations, telling employees in support of the racial justice movement that “the only good n----- is a dead n-----,” and warning one worker that he was going to go out and “lynch [him] a n-----.” Pilon, who was convicted of hate crimes, also left nooses around Michigan parking lots and at a 7-Eleven, with notes that read, “An accessory to be worn with your ‘BLM’ t-shirt. Happy protesting!” U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison said during the sentencing Wednesday, “A noose is a symbol of hatred that evokes the darkest days of our country’s past.” The assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said Palin’s tactics “were all intended to terrorize the targeted victims solely because of their race.”