WILLMAR, Minn. – Authorities allege a Minnesota man threw a pig's foot at Somalis at a farmers market.
Sixty-one-year-old Joe Fernkes of Willmar is charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He's due in court Aug. 30.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations wants Fernkes to be charged with a hate crime. The advocacy group notes that Muslims are prohibited from eating pork and that "bigots often use pigs or pork to offend Muslim sensibilities."
Fernkes tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune he set the frozen pig's foot down on the table at a Willmar market on Saturday and "didn't say one word."
He says Somalis are "taking over the whole ... town," but that he "shouldn't have done" it.
Police located Fernkes at his home and gave him a citation.
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