Two
self-described Nazi skinheads have been charged with felony
hate crimes after they allegedly attacked two
teenagers in suburban Chicago who told them they were lesbians.
Patrick L. Langballe, 29, of Winnetka, and Aaron
C. Rush, 20, of Green Bay, Wis., were being held
Saturday in Lake County Jail, authorities said. Bond
was set at $1 million Friday for Langballe and $1.5 million
for Rush. Langballe and Rush also were charged with armed
robbery and aggravated battery, both felonies, and
unlawful use of a weapon, a misdemeanor.
Authorities said the two men attacked two
teenage girls on June 16 at Illinois Beach State Park
near the town of Zion. The men had met the girls, who
were 17 and 18, earlier that day, officials said. After Rush
allegedly made a sexual advance toward one of the girls, she
told him she was in a lesbian relationship with the
other girl. The two men said they were skinheads,
authorities said.
A fight broke out later, resulting in minor
injuries to one of the girls. Another camper,
approached by the girls for help, called police. It could
not immediately be determined whether the men had attorneys.
A message left Friday night at Langballe's
residence was not returned, and a public telephone
listing for Rush could not be found. A message left
with Lake County prosecutors also was not returned.
Langballe is a onetime follower of white supremacist
Benjamin Smith, who went on a shooting rampage in
Illinois and Indiana in 1999, targeting minorities and
killing two people before shooting himself. (AP)