Modesto man, tied to racist flyers, is convicted on felony charges
A Modesto man accused of distributing racist slurs was convicted of stalking and making criminal threats against people based on their Latino ethnicity.
Anthony Ruben Rodriguez, 39, was arrested four months ago on hate crime charges related to incidents between October and December 2024. Rodriguez distributed and posted multiple flyers containing hate speech in the Parklawn neighborhood in south Modesto and in other areas.
The Stanislaus County District's Office said Rodriguez admitted to targeting Latino residents because of their ethnicity. In a plea agreement, he admitted to a felony charge of stalking a woman, with a hate crime enhancement, and a second felony of making criminal threats against another victim, with the same enhancement.
He also was convicted of misdemeanor civil rights charges, and is scheduled for sentencing Thursday.
In December, Rodriguez was arrested and identified as a suspect who made and distributed signs and index cards with violent messages including 'kill wetbacks.' Some of the index cards were left on car windshields.
Investigators from the district attorney and sheriff's offices were looking into the incidents after community members complained about the lack of response to the racial epithets. A break came when Modesto police responded to a call in the area of Ninth and K streets, prompted by a racially offensive note left on a vehicle.
Modesto Police Department found it had an arrest warrant for Rodriguez tied to criminal threats and a stalking incident in October. Rodriguez was arrested and a search warrant served at his residence revealed the same kind of racist flyers distributed at Parklawn.
District Jeff Laugero said in a news release many of the flyers, though offensive, were constitutionally protected as free speech, such as those that didn't threaten violence. 'We recognize that hate speech is deeply offensive and harms those it targets and those subjected to it,' Laugero said. 'However, under the First Amendment, some offensive flyers are protected speech.'
Laugero said the lack of criminal charges related to some of Rodriguez' flyers is not an endorsement of hateful views but is an acknowledgment of First Amendment protections. Rodriguez, who's from an Hispanic background, seemed to target newer immigrants with his messages.
The DA's hate crimes prosecutors have specialized training in these legal issues and also seek advice from a hate crimes expert at Stanislaus State University, the news release said.
'This office will file charges when offensive flyers or other similar hate speech crosses the line from protected speech to illegal hate crimes,' Laugero said. 'Hate has no place in our community.'
Any fines collected from Rodriguez will go to a local organization that assists hate crime victims.
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How Trump-Friendly Home Depot Got Caught in America's Immigration Wars
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration crackdown is targeting illegal migrants—not only at airports and border crossings but also in Home Depot parking lots nationwide, putting the retail giant with a history of support for the president in a difficult position. Scenes of protest and riots that erupted in Los Angeles last week were partly sparked by an unexpected immigration raid on Friday at a Home Depot in the Westlake neighborhood. Dozens were arrested in a coordinated sweep that also hit garment factories downtown and additional Home Depot locations in suburban cities like Paramount and Huntington Park. 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Home Depot CEO Bernie Marcus poses for a portrait in a Home Depot store October 15, 1998. Erik Lesser/Liaison via Getty Bernie Marcus, the company's co-founder and former chairman, was one of Donald Trump's earliest and most vocal financial backers, donating more than $14 million to support his 2016 campaign and related political efforts. Though Marcus retired from the company in 2002 and died last November — one day before the election — at the age of 95, his longtime status as a GOP megadonor sparked previous boycott calls and continue to shape perceptions of the company's political alignment. Ken Langone, another Home Depot co-founder, has had a more complex relationship with Trump. Initially critical, Langone expressed renewed support for Trump in 2024, praising his resilience following the assassination attempt in Butler, Penn. and suggesting it could solidify the president's place in history. Home Depot has long worked to distance itself from the personal politics of its founders. "His views do not represent the company," a spokesperson said of Marcus during the 2019 backlash. The company also stresses that it does not endorse presidential candidates. But its political action committee has made substantial donations to Republican causes. In the 2024 election cycle, Home Depot contributed $1 million to the School Freedom Fund and $220,151 to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Another $143,569 was directed to Trump's campaign, according to OpenSecrets. In the current political climate, those past connections and donations have resurfaced amid a public reckoning over what some progressives say is a theme in corporate America of complicity and silence surrounding the most controversial policies of the Trump administration. Despite Home Depot's claims of noninvolvement, the recurring presence of ICE near its stores continues to draw national attention. The raids come at a time when the company is already under financial pressure, largely related to Trump's on-again, off-again tariff policies. First-quarter earnings dipped slightly from a year earlier, and shares fell after news of the raids broke. Analysts have warned that if public protests and customer anxiety persist, the company could face both reputational and operational fallout.
