Witness says racial-hate defendant made her fear for her life

A witness told a Vilnius court she feared Kamisha Latoya Menns wanted to kill staff during a dispute at the Liepkalnis ski centre. LRT reported that testimony was heard Tuesday in the case against Menns, who is accused of violating public order and inciting hatred against a group on the grounds of sex, race and skin colour.

Regina Gasparovič, an employee at Liepkalnis, said the confrontation began after Menns became angry about the price of her ski tickets. Gasparovič said staff had reminded her several times that tickets were cheaper when bought online. Menns demanded a refund, but Gasparovič could not process it herself because the tickets had been paid for by card.

Gasparovič testified that Menns began shouting and insulting the cashiers, calling them “lazy, royal, white bitches”. She said she feared for her life when Menns tried to force her way into staff-only rooms. Visitors at the centre encouraged the cashiers to hold on, and Menns calmed down only after police arrived.

Prosecutor Edvinas Navickas asked Gasparovič about an online statement attributed to Menns that white people knew how to “play the victim” and harm Black people. “It hurt me to hear that,” Gasparovič replied.

Earlier in the hearing, Liepkalnis employee and injured party Danielė Akulavičiūtė said she could not recall the exact insults Menns had used because she had suffered a panic attack during the incident. She described the insults as racist. Comparing the English and Lithuanian versions of documents in the case, the judge said the words had been softened in translation.

At the start of the hearing, the court said it had received anonymous letters about Menns’s social media posts, including posts concerning the prosecutor and judge Ieva Narbutaitė. The judge said the court would not accept anonymous documents. The judge also rejected several of Menns’s questions to Akulavičiūtė as repetitive or unrelated to the case, including a question about whether she skis.

The next hearing is scheduled for October 30. The case was referred to court in February, but proceedings began in June after Menns, 46, repeatedly refused lawyers and sought to replace them, among other requests.

According to the case file, the incident took place in February last year after a dispute over ticket prices and a refund. Prosecutors allege that Menns tried to enter staff rooms, shouted at employees, ignored requests to calm down and demeaned them because of their skin colour, sex and race. The centre was busy, with children among the visitors, and officials say the incident disrupted public order.