This case was submitted to the court back in February, but the 46-year-old defendant delayed the start of the trial – she kept refusing lawyers and wanted to replace them, submitted various requests, for example, to disqualify prosecutor Edvinas Navickas, to hold closed sessions.
In June, the case was finally started to be heard.
On Friday, the session began with a dispute between the defendant and judge Ieva Narbutaitė. The judge ordered the defendant, who started taking photos as the session began, to put down the phone and delete the photos. The foreigner raised her voice complaining that journalists were filming her; the judge explained that they did so before the session started.
“There is no legal basis for such a case against a black woman in a country where 99 percent of the population is white,” the defendant stated.
She again expressed a desire to disqualify her state-appointed lawyer Saulius Azbainis. The judge reminded her that this issue was resolved at the previous session – the disqualification was denied. The defendant was again reminded that she can find a lawyer who meets her requirements at any time.
But K. L. Menns continued to repeat the same claims about the incompetence of the appointed lawyer in a raised voice.
“It is my right to speak about violations of my rights,” said the English-speaking defendant.
“If the same thing is spoken about again, the court will ask not to translate anymore and will continue the process,” warned judge I. Narbutaitė.
The judge announced the victim Danielė Akulavičiūtė’s request to attach additional material to the case confirming that K. L. Menns continues to publish racist, defamatory, false statements online inciting hatred based on gender and race.
The additional material contains evidence that K. L. Menns has been spreading racist ideas online for many years.
The defendant objected to attaching the additional material to the case.
The judge refused to attach the mentioned material because it is not related to the specific incident at the Liepkalnis ski center when K. L. Menns publicly insulted and abused employees.
The defendant submitted a request to the court to summon and question the Attorney General Nida Grunskienė. Prosecutor E. Navickas opposed this. The judge refused to summon the Attorney General because she was not present at the incident location.
Because of this, the defendant became furious and started shouting that she had written a letter to the Attorney General about threats to her and her daughter, that their lives were in danger. The judge explained that she can contact law enforcement about the threats, but it is unrelated to the case being heard.
“Considering the defendant’s emotional state, I declare a break,” announced judge I. Narbutaitė.
During the break, K. L. Menns attacked prosecutor E. Navickas – pointing her finger at him, the defendant shouted that he is the most guilty here and is making a career from her case.
“It is strange to hear this. In hate speech cases, I also represent black people,” prosecutor E. Navickas told BNS about the incident.
After the break, it was intended to question the defendant, but she used the right to give testimony after other participants in the process were questioned.
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At the Friday session, the victim, employee of the Liepkalnis ski center D. Akulavičiūtė, was questioned.
She told that the defendant came to the cash desks in a bad mood. She was offered to use a special ski center app, then tickets would be cheaper, but the woman did not listen to what was said to her.
D. Akulavičiūtė’s colleague, working at the adjacent window, sold tickets to K. L. Menns, who paid by card, then realized she had overpaid and started shouting, putting her hands through the cash window trying to grab the cashier.
“I was scared. Such things do not happen here,” said the questioned victim.
When the colleague managed to close the window, the defendant rushed to the service cash door. Seeing this, D. Akulavičiūtė also rushed to the door to lock it but did not manage. K. L. Menns pushed her with the door and started forcing her way inside.
The victim tried to stop and calm her, but the foreigner, filming, only shouted and swore calling D. Akulavičiūtė “white bitch” and “royal bitch.” The assaulted woman began to cry.
“I am sensitive to such things, I had a panic attack,” said the victim.
At the next session on September 16, the victim’s questioning will continue.
As BNS wrote, K. L. Menns came to the Liepkalnis ski center last February. A conflict arose at the center’s cash desks over the price of ski tickets and money refund, and the foreigner behaved aggressively.
According to the case data, the defendant tried to enter the service premises, shouted at employees, did not respond to their requests to calm down, maliciously mocked, ridiculed, and demonstratively cynically humiliated the ski center employees with her words, incited hatred based on their skin color, gender, and race.
At that time, there were many visitors at the center, including minors, so according to officers, with such insolent behavior the foreigner showed disrespect to others, disturbed public peace and order.
“The defendant behaved aggressively, in front of the center’s employees, visitors, including children, shouted at employees, demanded money back, did not respond to employees’ requests to calm down. She pushed the cash window with her hands, pushed the center employee away with the window, ran to the cash door held by an employee, forcefully tore it open, pushed her way in, pushed employees with her body, shouted, demanded money back,” the indictment states.
The indictment mentions phrases by K. L. Menns such as “look at the white woman’s tears, she is a royal bitch.”
That same evening, the defendant publicly shared videos, images, and texts filmed at the ski center on the social network Instagram, which are suspected of mocking, degrading, and inciting hatred against a group of people and individuals belonging to it based on their skin color, gender, and race.
“When you face white women’s tears, do not tolerate it, mock them,” the defendant wrote on social media.
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K. L. Menns does not admit guilt.
