CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A 55-year-old McHenry woman accused of attacking a Home Depot customer while arguing about face masks and saying she believes in “white power” was acquitted of all charges Wednesday.
The incident occurred last July after Teri Hill, 55, had taken off her face mask at a Home Depot, located at 2461 N. Richmond Rd., prompting what started as a verbal altercation with another woman.
Each woman recorded the other with their phones, and the video went viral on social media.
"The entitlement is disgusting," said the other woman.
"Yes, I am entitled. I'm white. I am a woman," Hill said.
"What does you being white have to do with you being able to get your way?" the other woman asked.
"Because I am a white woman, that's what happens," Hill told her.
The woman responded saying "you're a disgusting, racist piece of trash. Literally."
To which Hill responded, "I believe in white power."
The woman said Hill punched her and both women went down fighting.
Teri A. Hill, 55, was originally charged in July with misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct. She was accused of hitting and threatening to cough on another woman at Home Depot.
On Wednesday, McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt said he didn’t find either woman credible. According to the Northwest Herald, the judge had difficulty determining who threw the first punch, but said the altercation was avoidable to begin with.
Gerhardt said he doesn’t condone Hill’s remarks; but said, “I would consider calling someone a ‘racist piece of trash’ fighting words.”
In the end he found Hill not guilty of battery and disorderly conduct and she was acquitted.
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