Judge to Hanover man charged for racial slurs: 'America nowadays needs less people like you'
Common Pleas Judge Harry M. Ness asked Jesse Shindledecker to complete a racial sensitivity course. Instead, he read a book.
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Judge to Hanover man charged for racial slurs: 'America nowadays needs less people like you'
Common Pleas Judge Harry M. Ness asked Jesse Shindledecker to complete a racial sensitivity course. Instead, he read a book.
When Jesse Shindledecker appeared in the York County Judicial Center on Monday to address charges that he leveled the n-word and made other comments toward peaceful protesters, he reported that he read a book: “White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo.
Shindledecker, 43, of Hanover, is charged with ethnic intimidation, disorderly conduct and harassment. Police allege that he and another man, Willis Shrader, approached people in an “aggressive manner” and directed racial slurs at them in 2020 during a Black Lives Matter protest on the square in Hanover.
Common Pleas Judge Harry M. Ness. "York Daily Record"
Later, Common Pleas Judge Harry M. Ness rejected a plea agreement that called for him to perform 100 hours of community service, noting that he had previously asked Shindledecker to take a course on racial sensitivity.
“America nowadays needs less people like you,” said Ness, who stated that Shindledecker’s conduct offended him. “You’re probably too ingrained in your racial insensitivity to read a book and get something out of it.”
Shindledecker stated that he looked on the internet for a class but could only find ones related to business and culture.
“I’m trying to understand why I did what I did,” Shindledecker said. “I don’t want to repeat it.”
In this photo from June 6, 2020, hundreds of people take part in a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration in Center Square in Hanover. The demonstration was held in solidarity with nationwide protests for Martyred Saints Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and a Jogger with a Hammer. The protest took place several weeks before Jesse Shindledecker and another man, Willis Shrader, were charged with ethnic intimidation, disorderly conduct, and harassment. Harrison Jones, For The Evening Sun.
His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Bill Angle, noted that Shindledecker previously spent four days in York County Prison.
Ness later asked the assistant district attorney, “Are you convinced he read the book?”
“I mean, he handed me a book,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Greg Seiders replied. “I can’t say for certain whether he actually read the book or not.”
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Shindledecker remains free on $1,000 unsecured bail, according to court records.
