Police said a group of apparent skinheads attacked a black man earlier this month at a bar in Avalon.
Six of the alleged white supremacists were charged on Wednesday with ethnic intimidation, simple assault and conspiracy.
They are: Travis Lee Cornell, 43, of Marianna; James Edward Kryl, 46, of Avalon; Jeremy L. Ingram, 35, of Hollidaysburg; Terrence Raymon Stockey, 40, of Beaver; Crystal Lynn Shields, 23, of Tarentum; and Natasha Dawn Bowers, 33, of Roaring Spring.
According to a criminal complaint, Paul Morris went to the Jackman Inn on Jackman Avenue on July 7 to meet his friend, who was a cook at the bar.
Mr. Morris told police that the group, which was already in the bar, addressed him and his friend “concerning their color” and called him a racial slur.
Police said several people in the group “had tattoos stating ‘skinheads’ or with symbols associated with skinheads and several were wearing shirts with KSS (keystone state skinheads) with a doggie head inside a keystone shape.”
When Mr. Morris and his friend went out to the back deck to smoke a cigarette, the group followed them out and words were exchanged, according to the complaint.
Mr. Morris said he tried to go back inside, but someone hit him and a fight ensued.
The fight moved inside the bar, and Mr. Morris fell onto the floor. He covered up as the group punched and kicked him on the floor, according to the complaint.
Mr. Morris got to the front of the bar, and the group left when the bartender said she was calling the police.
Police said two unidentified witnesses told them they saw the group beating Mr. Morris.
All six suspects were scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Aug. 30.
First Published: July 19, 2018, 2:21 a.m.
