Woman accused of crashing ex's funeral defaced Fargo Jesus statue, court docs allege

FARGO — A Barnesville, Minn., woman charged in May with disrupting her ex-boyfriend's funeral in Fargo is now charged in an April vandalism case involving a statue outside St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown Fargo.

In the vandalism case, Blair Whitten, 28, faces a Class B misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief in Fargo Municipal Court.

A court complaint accuses Whitten of spray-painting the face of a statue of Jesus Christ on April 17.

The statue has since been cleaned.

Whitten made a court appearance on the charge on Friday, July 2, and was released on the condition she appears for future hearings in court.

The maximum penalty for the offense is 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine.

In the cemetery incident, Whitten is charged in Cass County District Court with one count of misdemeanor reckless endangerment stemming from a May 1 incident at Riverside Cemetery in south Fargo.

According to court documents in that case:

Officers responding to a disturbance at the cemetery were told by members of the public that a vehicle had been driving over gravesites and "trying to run people over."

An officer detained a female driver on the north side of the cemetery who identified herself as Whitten.

Whitten told police she had shown up for her ex-boyfriend's funeral and was sitting in her car at the cemetery when people approached her vehicle.

She told police she thought the people would hurt her, so she drove off, being careful not to hit anything.

The father of the deceased told police he witnessed Whitten, who he said was not wanted at the funeral, driving an SUV at high speed across the cemetery, which he said frightened him.

Another witness told police he was approaching Whitten's parked vehicle after the burial to ask her to leave when Whitten accelerated towards him, causing him to jump out of the way and to fear for his life.

The witness said Whitten was not welcome at the funeral because she had made harassing posts on social media about her ex-boyfriend's death.

Whitten has pleaded not guilty to both the criminal mischief charge and the reckless endangerment charge.

In addition to those charges, Whitten faces a number of other charges in Cass County District Court, including charges of terrorizing; attempted simple assault on an officer; refusal to halt; unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia; and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Those charges stem from an incident on Thursday, July 1.

According to court documents in that case:

Police were called to Fort Noks in downtown Fargo on a report of a female who was trying to break into the business and threatening to murder staff.

An account provided by a police officer indicated Whitten ran from the scene as police arrived and later pulled away and screamed racial slurs while police placed her in handcuffs in a nearby alley.

Bar employees told police they were closing down the bar when Whitten tried to rip open the front doors.

When the bar employees told Whitten the business was closed Whitten replied she would "come back and murder you when you leave," according to court documents that stated Whitten then began climbing on a vehicle belonging to one of the employees.

While being escorted into jail, Whitten tried to kick an officer, according to court documents that also stated a substance believed to be marijuana as well as a glass pipe were found on Whitten.

Whitten made a court appearance on the charges Friday and conditions of release were set at $5,000 bail, which could be satisfied with a 10% bond and personal recognizance.

Whitten remained in the Cass County Jail as of late Friday afternoon.