Associated Press - November 6, 2009 12:14 PM ET
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) - Three family members have been charged with hate crimes in connection with a confrontation outside a Coeur d'Alene home.
The Coeur d'Alene Press reports that Ira Tankovich, 47, William Tankovich, 49, and Frank Tankovich, 46, were arrested this week and each charged with one count of malicious harassment and one count of conspiracy to commit malicious harassment.
According to police records, Ira Tankovich was arrested in August on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm and providing false information to an officer. Police say he went to a Hispanic man's home to instigate a physical altercation.
The prosecuting attorney's office dropped the false information charge and initially only pursued the gun charge. But they continued to investigate the incident and added the hate crime charges this week.
Information from: Coeur d'Alene Press, http://www.cdapress.com
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