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An Illinois man named Andrew Angel is accused of bringing a KKK hood to the parking lot of a Countryside, Illinois Starbucks and making racial taunts to a Hispanic man at the coffee shop. Patch called Angel an “alleged neo Nazi ventriloquist.”
A Twitter page in Angel’s name contains a Confederate flag cover photo, a picture of him as a ventriloquist, and a stream of religious quotes. On one social media page, he calls himself a “Christian identity minister.” On LinkedIn, he calls himself “Minister at Divine International Church of the Web” and claims to have a certificate in Christian education.
When officers searched Angel’s car, they found “white supremacist flyers, a Ku Klux Klan hood, other KKK regalia, clothing with swastika and confederate flag patches, a ventriloquist dummy, stuffed animals and a security guard uniform,” according to ABC 7. The television station says Angel is from DeKalb, Illinois. The Starbucks is located in suburban Chicago.
Here’s what you need to know:
Angel Is Accused of Putting White Supremacist Literature on a Person’s Car at Starbucks
Andrew Angel charged w/ hate crime in Illionos; police find KKK hood and ventriloquist dummy in his car after he shouted racial slurs and put a Nazi flier on Hispanic man’s car. Here is a photo of Angel in an Aryan Nations uniform.
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The incident started with Andrew Angel allegedly placing “a flyer with a swastika and anti-government propaganda” on the car of a person while that person was still inside the vehicle, ABC 7 reported.
That person then confronted Andrew Angel about the materials inside the Starbucks in Countryside and Angel is accused of causing a disturbance and yelling racial slurs at the person, according to the television station. According to Patch, the man in the car was Hispanic, and the handout contained neo Nazi materials.
The incident happened in May but Angel was taken into custody in late July 2018, according to My Stateline.com.
Andrew Angel Stands Accused of a Felony Hate Crime & Angel Is Accused of Refusing to Let a Black Starbucks Employee Take His Order
Police: Man charged with hate crime outside Starbucks had KKK hood in car t.co/9Y372Fq0jO
Angel, whose fuller name is given as Andrew R. Angel, is now accused of a felony hate crime. The victim recorded some of his encounter with Angel on a cell phone video, although it hasn’t been released.
Patch described the items allegedly subsequently located in Angel’s car as “clothing with swastika and confederate flag patches, a Ku Klux Klan hood, white supremacist literature, a ventriloquist dummy and several stuffed Disney animal characters.”
Starbucks employees told police that Angel had previously refused to allow an African-American store employee take his order, Patch reported, adding that Angel’s lawyer claimed he’s been homeless and living in his car since a divorce. Patch also reported that Angel allegedly has a domestic battery arrest, and denies he’s a neo Nazi, saying he called the KKK hood a “souvenir,” and said he was singing a rap song not using racial slurs.
Angel Was Previously Accused of Infiltrating Churches
A 2010 article by Imagine 2050 accused Angel of infiltrating area churches.
“A man named Andrew Angel is walking into places of worship and asking to have his picture taken with unsuspecting pastors and church leaders. Those pictures are inevitably ending up on a white supremacist website called ‘Divine International Church on the Web,’ owned and operated by Mr. Angel,” the site alleged.
“A closer look at this website reveals that Andrew Angel follows the teachings of Christian Identity, a racist theology which teaches that salvation is solely for whites, that people of color are soulless, and that Jews are the spawns of Satan.”
The website is still up and reads, “Welcome to the Divine International Church of the Web. Rev. Andrew R. Angel, Pastor.”