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An Independence woman accused of trying to drive a biracial man from a neighborhood on U.S. 40 by vandalizing and setting fire to his mobile home pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court.
Teresa Witthar, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, one count of violating the Fair Housing Act, and one count of obstruction of justice, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
Investigators said that Witthar was part of a group who were determined to get Nathaniel Reed, who is biracial, out of the Highland Manor Mobile Home Park, 17311 E. U.S. 40 in 2006. The group entered Reed’s home and wrote racial slurs on the walls, and a few days later, the indictment alleges, Witthar got gasoline to start a fire at Reed’s home.
On June 8, 2006, at least one of the group threw a gas can with a lit piece of cloth under the mobile home, the indictment says.
In the spring of 2011, Witthar unsuccessfully attempted to persuade another person to testify falsely in front of a grand jury about her role in the vandalism and fire, according to the release.
The case was prosecuted through the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. It was investigated by the FBI.
“When threats and vandalism failed to drive their victim out of the neighborhood, these conspirators escalated their racially motivated campaign by burning down his home,” Beth Phillips, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said in the release. “The Constitution protects each of us from racially motivated intimidation, and this defendant will be held accountable for violating Mr. Reed’s civil rights.”
It was not immediately known Thursday what the maximum sentence for Witthar might be.
An Independence woman accused of trying to drive a biracial man from a neighborhood on U.S. 40 by vandalizing and setting fire to his mobile home pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court.
Teresa Witthar, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, one count of violating the Fair Housing Act, and one count of obstruction of justice, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
Investigators said that Witthar was part of a group who were determined to get Nathaniel Reed, who is biracial, out of the Highland Manor Mobile Home Park, 17311 E. U.S. 40 in 2006. The group entered Reed’s home and wrote racial slurs on the walls, and a few days later, the indictment alleges, Witthar got gasoline to start a fire at Reed’s home.
On June 8, 2006, at least one of the group threw a gas can with a lit piece of cloth under the mobile home, the indictment says.
In the spring of 2011, Witthar unsuccessfully attempted to persuade another person to testify falsely in front of a grand jury about her role in the vandalism and fire, according to the release.
The case was prosecuted through the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. It was investigated by the FBI.
“When threats and vandalism failed to drive their victim out of the neighborhood, these conspirators escalated their racially motivated campaign by burning down his home,” Beth Phillips, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said in the release. “The Constitution protects each of us from racially motivated intimidation, and this defendant will be held accountable for violating Mr. Reed’s civil rights.”
It was not immediately known Thursday what the maximum sentence for Witthar might be.
