:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/47J72VPW7ZCEJHLBIBWET4OWZ4.jpg "Man accused of smashing windows, defacing Illinois bakery ahead of family-friendly drag show makes first court appearance – New York Daily News")
An Illinois man accused of vandalizing a bakery in suburban Chicago ahead of a drag-friendly show over the weekend made his first appearance in court Tuesday.
Joseph Collins, 24, is charged with vandalism and writing hateful messages on the walls of UpRising Bakery and Café in Village of Lake in the Hills, a small community located about 45 miles northwest of Chicago.
On Saturday, UpRising Bakery and Café owner Corinna Sac was forced to reschedule a “Brunch at Night” event after the bakery “sustained significant damage” as the result of anti-LGBTQ vandalism, authorities said in a news release.
The event, “Starry Night, Sunny Skies,” was advertised as a fun drag show for people of all ages, according to Sac. But for weeks, she said that both the bakery and her employees were targeted by hundreds of hateful comments online.
In the early hours of Saturday, Lake in the Hills officers were notified that a suspect was vandalizing the property. When police arrived at the bakery, they noticed that some of its windows had been smashed and “hateful messages [had been] spray-painted on the building,” leading Sac to cancel the event.
Collins was arrested a few minutes later. He was charged with one count of hate crime and one count of criminal damage to property, both Class 4 felonies. If convicted, he could face up to three years in prison.
He was released from McHenry County Jail on Saturday after posting $1,000 of a $10,000 bond.
On Tuesday he made his first appearance in McHenry County court.
Judge Michael Coppedge set a new court date after he said he needed time to find an attorney, according to Arlington Heights, Ill.-based newspaper Daily Herald. He’s expected back in court on Aug. 26.
The bakery has since reopened. An online fundraiser created by a patron who has “absolutely no affiliation with UpRising, [but who is] sick and tired of injustice and wants to lend a helping hand,” has raised nearly $15,000 in four days.
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