Assaulted Teen's Lawsuit To Potentially Bankrupt White Supremacist Group
A Kentucky teen was awarded $2.5 million in damages on Friday after he suffered a beating from members of the Imperial Klans of America, a part of the Ku Klux Klan, at the Meade County Fair in Brandenberg, Kentucky, who had mistakenly targeted the 16 year old believing him to be an illegal Latino immigrant.
In July of 2006, Jordan Gruver was at the wrong place at the wrong time, becoming the victim of a recruitment mission for the group, assaulted by Klansmen distributing white supremacist literature at the Meade County Fair. He was confronted by three individuals, Jarred Hensley, Andrew Watkins and Joshua Cowles, who taunted him, shouted racial slurs and spit on him. Two of them had escalated the situation and a savage beating ensued resulting in a broken jaw and left forearm, two cracked ribs, and several cuts and bruises. Gruver later testified to suffer from permanent nerve damage and psychological trauma, claiming to be plagued by nightmares. Hensley and Watkins were identified in the lawsuit as the two men that assaulted Gruver, who allegedly knocked him over then beat and kicked him relentlessly.
Gruver, no
w 19, an American citizen of Panamanian and Native American descent, was awarded $2.5 million in damages by a jury on Friday, who concluded that the Imperial Klans Of America had unjustly targeted the teen. The settlement included $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages against the attackers.
Backed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Gruver has fought back again in civil court, and filed a personal injury civil lawsuit last year, with hopes to end the white supremacist groupÕs reign. They aim to receive up to $6 million in damages against the Imperial Klans of America and its leadership, Ron Edwards and Jarred Hensley who are accused of fanning the flames of prejudice. The suit claims that the group and its leaders had unjustly incited hate at its rallies and encouraged its members to use violence against minorities.
The Imperial Klans of America is said to be the second largest KKK group in the nation. The law center claims that a large enough compensation would be enough to break the group apart and potentially put them out of business, allowing both the teen and law center to acquire its assets, which includes a 15-acre compound in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.
In July of 2006, Jordan Gruver was at the wrong place at the wrong time, becoming the victim of a recruitment mission for the group, assaulted by Klansmen distributing white supremacist literature at the Meade County Fair. He was confronted by three individuals, Jarred Hensley, Andrew Watkins and Joshua Cowles, who taunted him, shouted racial slurs and spit on him. Two of them had escalated the situation and a savage beating ensued resulting in a broken jaw and left forearm, two cracked ribs, and several cuts and bruises. Gruver later testified to suffer from permanent nerve damage and psychological trauma, claiming to be plagued by nightmares. Hensley and Watkins were identified in the lawsuit as the two men that assaulted Gruver, who allegedly knocked him over then beat and kicked him relentlessly.
Gruver, no
Backed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Gruver has fought back again in civil court, and filed a personal injury civil lawsuit last year, with hopes to end the white supremacist groupÕs reign. They aim to receive up to $6 million in damages against the Imperial Klans of America and its leadership, Ron Edwards and Jarred Hensley who are accused of fanning the flames of prejudice. The suit claims that the group and its leaders had unjustly incited hate at its rallies and encouraged its members to use violence against minorities.
The Imperial Klans of America is said to be the second largest KKK group in the nation. The law center claims that a large enough compensation would be enough to break the group apart and potentially put them out of business, allowing both the teen and law center to acquire its assets, which includes a 15-acre compound in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.
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