CONSEQUENCES

Lawyer Who Spit on Black Protester Charged With Hate Crime

The enhanced charge means Stephanie Rapkin faces up to a year in jail. Of course, she already faces six years for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

The Wisconsin lawyer jailed for spitting on a protester has been charged with a hate crime. The enhanced charge means Stephanie Rapkin could face up to a year in jail for her behavior during the confrontation in Shorewood, which unfolded after she parked her car in the path of an anti-racism march. But Rapkin is facing even stiffer penalties for an incident the following day, when she allegedly kneed a police officer who showed up to arrest her for shoving a demonstrator outside her home. The charge of battery on a law enforcement officer carries up to six years. Rapkin claimed she spit on the teenager because she is a cancer survivor and was afraid she would get COVID-19 from him, but police noted that she was not wearing a mask herself.