2 Bloomington men plead guilty to ‘white supremicist’ attack in Ill.

Five local men were sentenced to prison Friday after pleading guilty to involvement in a May 19, 2012, attack on a group of men they believed to be involved with a white supremacist group in Tinley Park, Ill.

Cody Sutherlin, 24, and Alex Stuck, 22, both of Bloomington, John Tucker, 26, Martinsville, Jason Sutherlin, 33, and Dylan Sutherlin, 20, both of Gosport, Ind., all pled guilty to counts including armed violence and were sentenced to terms ranging from three and a half to six years.

According to a press release, prosecutors said the defendants were “members of an extreme and violent anti-racist group.” The five men, as well as at least 13 other individuals, concealed their faces with hoods and masks and entered the Ashford House Restaurant in a single-file line carrying batons, bats, asps and nunchucks.

The group confronted individuals they believed to be members of the Illinois European Heritage Association meeting in the restaurant and struck them with the weapons, according to the release. Several patrons, reportedly unaffiliated with either group, sustained head injuries and lacerations as a result of the attack.

“We have zero tolerance for this type of hateful violence which in this case was carried out in a terrorizing attack in the midst of unsuspecting citizens eating lunch in a quiet family restaurant,” Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said in the release.  

Prosecutors said the Bloomington men fled from the restaurant, but local police stopped their car, according to the release. Police noticed black-hooded sweatshirts, scarves and asps in plain view inside the car.

Witnesses identified Stuck, Tucker, Jason Sutherlin and Cody Sutherlin. Stuck and Tucker both later admitted to being present during the attack, according to the release.

“We are extremely pleased that these men have pled guilty and will be held accountable for these reckless and violent acts and will face appropriate prison sentences,” Alvarez said.

— Kirsten Clark