Non-Indians bragged about attack on Reno Sparks man online

Monday, June 27, 2011  

Two non-Indian men who attacked a member of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony of Nevada bragged about the incident on Facebook.

Johnny Bonta was threatened on May 24 by a group of men at a gas station at a border town near two reservations. When his family -- including his wife and daughter -- left, they were involved in an accident with the other car on a major highway.

That's when the attack occurred, family members said. Bonta was beaten badly by at least two men -- Jacob Cassell and Josh Janiszewski -- who later talked about their exploits on line.

“Just layed the fists and boots to some 6′ 5” tongan dude,” Janiszewski wrote on Facebook just two hours after the incident, Brenda Norrell first reported earlier this month.

“Amen,” responded Cassell, whose Facebook profile states that he served in the U.S. Army with Janiszewski.

Cassell is the son of a retired county sheriff. No charges have been filed against the men but Bonta was put in jail and fined.

Get the Story:
Attackers in Nevada hate crime talked about it on Facebook (The Narcosphere 6/10)
Native Family Attacked by Skinheads (Indian Country Today 6/27)