A Berwyn man was arrested July 21 after twice giving a Nazi salute in a courtroom to a man charged with a hate crime, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Richard Mayers, 33, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, and the state's attorney's office filed a petition to hold him in contempt of court. The previous week, Mayers was charged with allegedly destroying Holocaust-related library material in the Riverside Public Library.
At the hearing, Patrick Langballe, 29, pleaded not guilty before Circuit Judge Fred Foreman to charges stemming from a June 16 attack on two teen girls at Illinois Beach State Park near Zion that authorities said was caused by the girls saying they were lesbians.
Mayers, who was seated in the front row of the courtroom, said, 'Hey, Pat,' to Langballe. Mayers then directed a Nazi salute at Langballe and stood up and saluted him again. The salute was witnessed by Assistant State's Attorney Eric Kalata, who is prosecuting Langballe.
Mayers was taken into custody. As he was being led to court later that day, Mayers spoke a racial slur to a 12-year-old African-American girl who was part of a group touring the jail.
Langballe has been linked to jailed white supremacist Matt Hale, but Mayers has stated that he is not connected to Hale. Langballe remains in jail in lieu of $1 million bail. He and Aaron Rush, 20, of Green Bay, Wis., pleaded not guilty to a hate crime, armed robbery, aggravated battery and unlawful use of a weapon in the attack near Zion. Rush's bail also is $1 million. Their trials are Aug. 29.