A Western New Yorker facing hate crime charges after a confrontation with Black Lives Matter protesters faced further scrutiny from the judge presiding over his case last week after he asked to represent himself during a hearing.
In the summer of 2020, Michael J. Cremen, 47, and a friend confronted a group of Black Lives Matter protesters on Hertel Avenue in Buffalo, New York. He and another man reportedly blocked off marchers while brandishing a knife and screaming racial slurs at the crowd.
The situation escalated when he started shoving one of the protesters, resulting in their arrest. Cremen now faces a felony charge of second-degree menacing as a hate crime and second-degree harassment.
“An individual from Franklinville felt comfortable to come to this community and engage in hate speech and put his hands on a member of our community. Well, we will absolutely not tolerate that. We will not tolerate any form of violence in our community, and the Buffalo Police operated swiftly to find this individual and to have them arrested,” said Buffalo County mayor Byron Brown during a press conference about the incident.
Cremen failed to make several court appearances before finally being indicted with second-degree bail jumping last May. He attempted to bid for bail but was denied by the judge.
“There is no way I’m going to release him and take another chance on him,” State Supreme Court justice M. William Boller said. “I took one chance, and he blew it big time.”
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