Elmhurst White Supremacist Convicted Of Hate Crime: Records

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst man who believes in white supremacy has been convicted of a felony hate crime because he vandalized public property, according to public records.

In early July, Christopher Jackson, who lives in the 200 block of Boyd Avenue, pleaded guilty to a felony hate crime charge, court records indicate.

In return for the plea, DuPage County prosecutors dropped another hate crimes count, two counts of criminal damage and one count of vandalism to a school. He was given probation.

In May, Jackson and a 17-year-old youth were accused of carving swastikas and scrawling Nazi phrases such as "Heil Hitler" on playground equipment at Edison Elementary School, a block away from Jackson's house.

Through a public records request, Patch obtained the police report on the vandalism. No information was provided on the juvenile because such records are secret under state law.

During an interview with police, Jacksons said he specifically replaced the black laces of his Doc Martens boots with white laces because they represented "white power," according to the report.

Asked whether he had thoughts of hurting and killing people, Jackson said such thoughts were limited to hurting his family, police said. He said his only weapons were knives.

Jackson confirmed his beliefs in white supremacy in the interview, police said. Asked how he expressed his beliefs outside his wardrobe, Jackson said he believed in white supremacy, but not in the violence associated with it, the report said.

At first, Jackson denied involvement with the vandalism, but then admitted to being present when it occurred, police said. Ultimately, Jackson admitted he damaged the equipment with a knife, according to the report.

Jackson was given a no-trespass notice for properties owned by Elmhurst School District 205. The damage to the equipment was about $4,200, police said.

Police said a woman at Jackson's house told officers the home's occupants had no access to any guns or weapons.

According to the report, Jackson had no firearm owner's identification, or FOID, card. Local police submitted a "clear and present danger" form for Jackson to the state police, which manages the FOID card program.

In response, the state police said the local police department's request will be "taken into consideration in the event the subject tries to obtain a FOID card in the future."