Barry Elton Black, Richard J. Elliott, and Jonathan O’Mara
Respondents
Rodney A. Smolla, Counsel of RecordOn May 2, 1998, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Richard J. Elliott, Jonathan O’Mara, and David Targee, angry that Targee’s next-door neighbor had complained about the teens’ shooting firearms on Targee’s property, snuck into the neighbor’s yard, erected a wooden cross, and set it ablaze. Later that year, on August 22, Barry Elton Black led a Ku Klux Klan rally on private property that culminated in the burning of a 30-foot-tall cross within sight of a nearby highway. All four individuals were arrested, tried, and convicted under a Virginia State law prohibiting the burning of crosses…
