Nicholas Howard, the husband of Terra Costa Howard, a Democrat who is challenging state Rep. Peter Breen (R-Lombard) in the 48th House District, was cited for disorderly conduct on Easter Sunday in 2004.
Howard, then 39, told a Starbucks employee to “Shut the f**k up!” and pushed him when a friend told Howard that the worker had said “something derogatory” about Jesus, the crucifixion and Easter, according to a report by the Glen Ellyn Police Department.
The employee called the police and Howard waited outside.
Democrat House candidate Terra Costa Howard
Howard told police that he was sorry.
“I know what I did was wrong, but he shouldn’t be saying things like that,” he was quoted in the report as saying.
But a witness told police that the employee that Howard shoved said, “Today is Jesus’ day. People should be at home.”
A customer overheard what the employee said and became irate, the witness told police. The customer got Howard, who began to swear. Next, Howard reached over the counter and “pushed the employee with an open hand.”
Howard was cited for disorderly conduct and released on bond at the scene.
Costa Howard, a Glen Ellyn Democrat, has been backed in her race against Breen by Personal PAC, a group that supports taxpayer-funded elective abortions up until the moment of birth.
Breen, the Republican House floor leader, was first elected in 2014. He defeated then six-term Republican incumbent Sandra Pihos. Earlier this month, Pihos pleaded guilty to retail theft.
The 48th District includes most of Glen Ellyn and Lombard, the eastern part of Wheaton, and sections of Lisle, Downers Grove and Oak Brook Terrace.
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