William Schenk, 22, pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges he targeted women of color with KKK fliers. Pool photo by Zach Despart/Burlington Free Press
BURLINGTON — The man accused of targeting two women of color with Ku Klux Klan recruitment fliers accepted a plea deal Wednesday that would have let him walk free were he not facing unrelated charges in New York.
William Schenk, 22, pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct enhanced by a hate crime penalty in Chittenden County Superior Court.
Schenk posted the fliers — depicting a hooded Klan member on horseback holding a burning cross, with the words “Join the Klan, Save our Land” — at two women’s apartments in late October. Both women were in the courtroom to hear his change of plea.
Jocellyn Harvey and the mother of Allise Hewes, the other victim, addressed the court after Schenk entered his plea.
Both women spoke about the fear and anxiety that permeated the days after Harvey and Hewes found the KKK fliers. They were the only two people to receive the fliers in their South End neighborhood, and both feared the fliers could mean further harassment or violence, the women said.
Jocellyn Harvey, one of the women targeted with a KKK flier, addresses the court Wednesday in Burlington. Pool photo by Zach Despart/Burlington Free Press
“To feel that somebody targeted me just because, potentially because, I’m a few shades darker than them, at a home where I lived and that I pay for, is so disturbing,” said Harvey, who is black.
Susan Carlo, Hewes’ mother, said their family was so scared for her daughter’s welfare that they hired a private security guard to watch over Hewes during the two weeks between the discovery of the flier and Schenk’s arrest by Burlington police detectives.
“It’s very well-known what the KKK stands for: hatred, discrimination and sometimes really extreme violence,” Carlo said.
“The law takes its course, but the emotions remain,” Carlo said, adding that her daughter, who is Mexican-American, continues to struggle with “deep and residual anxiety in the form, and along the lines” of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Schenk also addressed the court, apologizing to his victims and saying it was not his intention to target anyone with the fliers.
“If I caused any fear I apologize. I didn’t mean to fear anybody,” he said. “I do care about the victims, and I just want them to go on in life, and I just want to do the same.”
Schenk, who has been locked up since November, said that during his time in prison he’s grown stronger in his Mormon faith.
“I really don’t wish to continue being a Klansman no more,” he added.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Harvey said she felt justice had been done and that the legal system resolved the matter far more quickly than she expected.
As for Schenk’s statements to the court, Harvey said she would need more time to fully process them. “He said what he needed to say. Whether or not I fully believe (his statements), as of right now, I don’t think I do,” she added.
Schenk was sentenced to serve roughly four months in prison for each count. Those sentences were to be served concurrently with credit for time already served. He was also ordered to pay $295 in court fees.
Schenk, having already spent more than five months in prison, was released into the custody of sheriff’s deputies from Clinton County, New York, on Wednesday afternoon. He was expected to appear before a judge in Plattsburgh, New York, later that day to be arraigned on a felony violation of an abuse prevention order.
Entering the no-contest plea required Schenk to acknowledge — but not agree to — the facts prosecutors presented in the Burlington case, as well as that the state could potentially prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. Those facts include that he acted recklessly and threateningly toward the victims and that he was maliciously motivated by their race.
Schenk’s plea was conditioned on his right to appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court a judge’s earlier denial of a motion to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the fliers were protected speech under the First Amendment. If the state Supreme Court rules in Schenk’s favor, his conviction will be vacated.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney TJ Donovan, who is running for attorney general, praised Mayor Miro Weinberger for standing “quickly and affirmatively against hate” in the days after the fliers were discovered.
“You’ll recall in the early days there was some discussion about whether or not there was a crime here. We stood steadfastly early on that this type of behavior is not only unacceptable in this community, it is criminal behavior,” Donovan said.
“There’s not a better time to stand up against hate than right now when political hate speech is a talking point in some of our elections,” he added.
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