Woman accused of disorderly conduct in racist park incident pleads not guilty

ROCHESTER – A woman accused of hurling racist slurs at an 8-year-old Black autistic child this spring has pleaded not guilty to disorderly conduct charges in the high-profile incident.

Shiloh Hendrix’s attorney, Minneapolis-based Brian Karalus, filed a plea letter on her behalf on Tuesday in Olmsted County District Court and asked to set a pretrial hearing.

A previously scheduled remote hearing on Oct. 29 has been canceled.

Hendrix, 36, garnered online attention after a witness recorded the aftermath of her confrontation with the boy in late April.

The moment went viral in early May and drew further controversy after Hendrix started an online fundraiser that raised more than $800,000 from people across the country. In comments and usernames, many of the donors expressed white nationalist views.

The Rochester City Attorney’s Office charged Hendrix in August with three counts of disorderly conduct stemming from the incident. According to the charges, Hendrix “wrongfully and unlawfully engaged in offensive … or abusive language that would reasonably tend to arouse alarm, anger, or resentment in others.”

Disorderly conduct charges could result in up to 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. However, the maximum punishment is unlikely under Minnesota sentencing guidelines.

The boy’s family and the woman were at Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial Park when the boy’s father and Hendrix both caught him reaching into Hendrix’s diaper bag and taking a container of applesauce, according to court records.

As the boy tried to run away, Hendrix hurled several racist slurs at him, and the stunned boy froze. His father told police Hendrix angrily grabbed the applesauce away the child and he said he feared she would strike his son, according to a court complaint.

A witness confronted Hendrix on video soon after, and Hendrix admitted using racial slurs against the child.

Hendrix has since pledged to fight the charges. In an update to her online fundraiser, she said she has used the donations to buy land in another community “with excellent demographics.”