Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

June 10, 2011

Attackers in Nevada hate crime talked about it on Facebook

Reno Sparks Indian Johnny Bonta and his son in law were beaten with a crowbar and baseball bats


By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

FERNLEY, Nevada -- The attackers in a Nevada hate crime talked about the attack on Facebook just hours after the attack in the bordertown of Fernley, Nevada, on May 24. Reno Sparks Indian Johnny Bonta was beaten with a crowbar, knocked out with a baseball bat and stabbed during the attack. His son in law suffered a crushed elbow and broken hand. The attackers attempted to slit Bonta's throat and cut off his braid during the hate crime.

The victim, Bonta, who suffered a broken nose and other injuries, was then arrested and denied medical treatement in jail. During an interview with Censored News, Johnny Bonta's wife Lisa Bonta described the attack on her family. She said the three attackers were Neo Nazi skinheads.

One of the attackers, Jacob Cassell, is the son of a retired Lyon County Sheriff officer. Cassell, 20 years old, was among those who commented on Facebook just hours after the attack. Jacob's mother Dell Cassell also commented hours after the attack.

The attacks occurred outside a Fernley convenience store at 1 p.m. on May 24. Fernley is located between the Indian Nations of Pyramid Lake Paiute and Fallon Shoshone Paiute.

On Facebook, Josh Janiszewski of Fernley wrote, "Just layed the fists and boots to some 6' 5'' tongan dude. what you got on little guys?" at 3:13 pm, about two hours after the attack.

When asked by another person if they gave them hell, Josh responded. "Oh we did. That's for sure!" at 3:48 pm.

"Amen," said Jacob Cassell at 4:07 pm.

Dee Cassell, the mother said, "So...who has blood? You guys need to come home to mom?" at 4:48 pm. Then she states she gave them First Aid.

"Better have ur asses at home after I did 1st aid. Don't piss off women - they r worse than men!" Dee Cassell wrote at 8:00 pm.

When asked by another person on Facebook asked if they got "some good licks" in Josh responded.

Josh said, "sent em to the hospital, they got fucked up man, thats for sure."

In the interview with Censored News, Lisa Bonta said the attackers threatened her daughter with rape if they see her in town. She said the police refused to take statements from the Bonta family.

When Johnny Bonta was denied medical treatment in jail, the family called the jail. They were told that Bonta "would have to get his Indian doctor" if he wanted to be treated.

Lisa Bonta said nearby tribal police assisted eventually in the release of Johnny Bonta, since no charges were filed. The convenience store clerk told her that there is a video which shows the attackers jumping out of the vehicle with baseball bats, but police had not asked for the video as evidence.

For more than two weeks, the Bonta family searched for their vehicle, with their documents in it, but Lisa said police would not reveal where the vehicle was. The family located the towed vehicle on their own.

The Bonta family has contacted an attorney to file a lawsuit and contacted the NAACP and ACLU. The Bonta family said the news media in Nevada would not report the story.

Now the question remains if the US Justice Department will investigate the case, which includes police imprisoning the victim of a hate crime.

Listen to the interview with Lisa Bonta on Censored News Radio:


http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brenda-norrell/2011/06/06/hate-crime-nevada-indian-bordertown

Petition urging Nevada Governor to investigate police in Fernley, Nevada:

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-the-governor-of-nevada-brian-sandoval-to-investigate-law-enforcement-in-fernley-nv?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=own_wall

 

3 comments:

Trisca said...

That is outrageous. I can't believe the news media didn't report this story, this is huge! I bet it was because it was the former sherriff's son that did the attack, with his mother encouraging it. Yuck, what despicable people.

Unknown said...

We are all connected...we are all a part of something bigger than ourselves. We can be open to the beauty of a shared sense of purpose or close ourself off to anything different, than what we already know. The meaning of life isn't do 'this' or do 'that'. It's a deeper sense of how we treat ourselves and even more importantly, how we treat those we come into contact with...

Robert said...

Hunt down those skinheads one at a time and give them each the same treatment. They are cowards as well as sub human trash.