Three men were charged with hate crimes Friday resulting from an incident in the early morning of Oct. 19 when three swastika-clad men allegedly kicked and pounded on doors on the 100 units of Eagle Heights while verbally threatening residents.
All three men, Matthew Dobrasz, 26, Thomas Van Zandt, 21, and Carl Pielmeier, 21, were specifically charged with a disorderly-conduct hate crime. Additionally, the men received three misdemeanor charges: Van Zandt and Pielmeier were charged with having concealed weapons and Dobrasz with carrying a switchblade knife, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
The men shouted racist remarks and threatened to commit murder while pounding at the apartment of one specific man who had attended a white supremacist meeting in downtown Madison Oct. 18 and had left the meeting early, which is forbidden by the group, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
According to a witness, the men were \looking to harm"" and shouted such things as, ""We're going to kill these people.""
Dobrasz, who has had five previous charges including battery, arson and theft, is currently in the Dane County Jail and is on probation. Van Zandt, who has four previous charges, and Pielmeier are scheduled for a court hearing Nov. 6.
