Probing hate crime

MOTIVE IN MOSQUE INCIDENT PROBED - TOP JUSTIN ELLIS, Portland Press Herald, 7/8/06
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/060708matthews.shtml
LEWISTON - The attorney for a man accused of throwing a pig's head into a mosque said the case needs to play out in the court system, not in public. James Howaniec said Friday that authorities should proceed carefully in a case that has grabbed the attention of local and national Muslim leaders, the FBI and the state Attorney General's Office."I would hope they would investigate this case and let the facts get developed in the court system," he said.Police say Brent Matthews, 33, of Lewiston admitted rolling a frozen pig's head into the Lewiston-Auburn Islamic Center on Lisbon Street as 40 men bowed in prayer Monday night. He turned himself in to police on Tuesday and faces a misdemeanor charge of desecrating a church.Muslims are prohibited from eating pork because they consider pigs unclean.Matthews told investigators he got the head from a pig roast and had been saving it in his freezer, and described his actions at the mosque as a joke, police said.Howaniec filed a not guilty plea Thursday in Androscoggin District Court for Matthews, who is free on $200 bail. An arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 6. Under the conditions of his bail, Matthews must stay away from the Islamic center.At a press conference at City Hall on Friday, local and federal authorities said they were working together to determine whether a federal civil rights case can be brought against Matthews.FBI Special Agent Todd DiFede said Friday afternoon that the agency has an interest in investigating civil rights cases involving race or religious discrimination. DiFede said investigators' findings would be turned over to U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby. (MORE)