Mo. Woman Indicted on Civil Rights Charges
KANSAS CITY - A western Missouri woman has been charged with violating the civil rights of a black family by their home on fire.
The U.S. Attorney's office says a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment Thursday against 33-year-old Victoria Cheek-Herrera of Independence.
Prosecutors allege that Cheek-Herrera conspired with others, who were not named, to threaten and intimidate a black couple and their two children who were renting an Independence home in June 2008.
Investigators said Cheek-Herrera and another person wrote the words "White Power" on the family's driveway, and then set fire to their home with a Molotov cocktail.
A phone number for Cheek-Herrera could not be found Thursday, and it wasn't clear if she had a lawyer.