A suburban Chicago man has been charged with hate crimes after he allegedly placed swastika stickers on the campaign signs of a county board candidate, a prosecutor said Monday.
Keith Klingeman, 49, of Naperville, was charged with two counts of hate crimes and one count of criminal property damage, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said.
Between Oct. 2 and Oct. 16, Klingeman allegedly placed homemade swastika stickers on two campaign signs belonging to DuPage County Board candidate Patricia Gustin, Berlin said.
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Klingeman turned himself in Friday at the Naperville police station and was released on bail, Berlin said.
Keith Klingeman, 49, of Naperville, Ill., has been charged with two hate crimes after placing swastika stickers on the campaign signs of a local political candidate.
“The accusations against Mr. Klingeman are simply despicable,” Berlin said. “Hate crimes have no place in a civilized society. We all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and anyone who violates this principle based on race, religion or any other hateful bias will be held accountable.”
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It was not clear if Klingeman has an attorney who can comment on the allegations against him.
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The campaign sign decals were the latest in a series of swastika incidents in the Chicago area this year. A suburban Chicago man was spray-painting swastikas on several homes and motor vehicles in July. Another Chicago-area man was charged with hate crimes in February for vandalism and anti-Semitic graffiti, including swastikas, at a synagogue and affiliated Jewish school in Chicago.
