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Four suspects charged with hate crimes over beating streamed live on Facebook Four suspects charged with hate crimes over beating in Facebook Live video
(about 2 hours later)
Four suspects have been charged with hate crimes, kidnapping, battery and burglary after a Facebook Live broadcast in Chicago appeared to show a person with disabilities bound, gagged and brutally attacked amid shouts of “fuck Donald Trump”. Four suspects have been charged with hate crimes, kidnapping and battery after a Facebook Live broadcast in Chicago appeared to show a person with disabilities bound, gagged and brutally attacked amid shouts of “fuck Donald Trump”.
The footage, which was live-streamed on Facebook, showed several people taunting and assaulting the man while he was sitting in the corner of a room, restrained and with his mouth taped closed.The footage, which was live-streamed on Facebook, showed several people taunting and assaulting the man while he was sitting in the corner of a room, restrained and with his mouth taped closed.
Police identified the suspects as Jordan Hill, Tesfaye Cooper, Brittany Covington, and Tanishia Covington. The suspects are all 18 years old, except Tanishia Covington, who is 24, according to the Associated Press. Police identified the suspects as Jordan Hill, Tesfaye Cooper and sisters Brittany Covington and Tanishia Covington. The suspects are all 18 years old, except Tanishia Covington, who is 24, according to the Associated Press.
Chicago police will hold a press conference Thursday to detail the charges at 3.15pm ET. In addition to charges of aggravated kidnapping and hate crimes, all four suspects were accused of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated unlawful restraint. The Covington sisters were also charged with burglary, and Hill was accused of stealing a vehicle.
Previewing the release, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Guardian that in addition to charges of aggravated kidnapping, suspects were accused of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, robbery and residential burglary and aggravated unlawful restraint. The suspects are black, and the victim, who at one point appears to be forced to shout the words “fuck Trump”, is white.
The individuals captured on video tormenting the victim are black. The victim, who at one point appears to be forced to shout the words “fuck Trump”, is white. Police commander Kevin Duffin told reporters on Thursday that prosecutors agreed to pursue hate crime charges due to the victim’s “diminished mental capacity, the fact that they tied him up, the obvious racial quotes”.
Guglielmi did not immediately have details on the nature of the hate crime accusations, but said he did not believe the suspects attacked the victim due to his race. He said the victim knew Hill from school, and that on 31 December, the victim’s parents dropped him off at a McDonald’s in Streamwood, Illinois, to meet Hill.
“This group of individuals was not traveling around looking to apprehend a white man,” he said. “He was not targeted because he was white.” Driving a stolen vehicle, Hill took the victim to Chicago, and the victim ended up sleeping in the van, according to Duffin.
Guglielmi said it took time for the victim to articulate the “severity” of the incident to police, adding: “This was an individual who was of special needs and was taken advantage of, and we’re going to be intolerant of that type of behavior. We are going to present the strongest case possible to the state’s attorney.” The victim’s parents eventually reported him missing, and on Tuesday, Hill and the victim went to the Chicago home of the Covington sisters, where the four suspects allegedly tormented him for hours.
On Wednesday, police gave their first account of the incident at a press conference. “Video of a brutal act towards an adult male with mental health challenges made its way onto social media,” police superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters. “The images in the video put on display the brazenness of the offenders who assaulted the victim and then broadcast it for the entire world to see.” The disturbing footage, which gained a wider audience when it was shared via YouTube on Wednesday, lasts around 30 minutes and at one point appeared to have 16,000 Facebook views. Large parts consist of one of the women smoking and talking animatedly into the camera.
Police commander Kevin Duffin said the victim, who is not a Chicago resident, was a school acquaintance of one of the four suspects and suggested the suspects may have stolen a van in the suburbs and “brought him out to Chicago”.
He added that the victim had been reported missing, and spent at least 24 hours – and possibly up to 48 hours – with the suspects.
“He’s traumatized by the incident and it’s very tough to communicate with him at this point,” he added of the victim. “It took most of the night for him to calm down enough to be able to talk to us.”
The disturbing footage, which gained a wider audience when it was shared on Wednesday via Youtube, lasts around 30 minutes and at one point appeared to have 16,000 Facebook views. Large parts consist of a woman, who police confirmed is among the suspects, smoking and talking animatedly into the camera.
At one point she appears to respond to real-time comments from other Facebook users. “My sister said it’s not funny,” the woman said. A male voice interjects: “Tell Donald Trump that’s not funny.”At one point she appears to respond to real-time comments from other Facebook users. “My sister said it’s not funny,” the woman said. A male voice interjects: “Tell Donald Trump that’s not funny.”
The references to the president-elect are peppered throughout the video.The references to the president-elect are peppered throughout the video.
At another point, a male suspect appears to take a knife to the top of the victim’s head. Subsequent footage appears to show the victim bleeding.At another point, a male suspect appears to take a knife to the top of the victim’s head. Subsequent footage appears to show the victim bleeding.
“Look at him, tied up,” one man can be heard saying, laughing and threatening to put the victim “in a trunk”. At one point, a suspect appeared to grab the victim by his neck and tighten the ties around him.“Look at him, tied up,” one man can be heard saying, laughing and threatening to put the victim “in a trunk”. At one point, a suspect appeared to grab the victim by his neck and tighten the ties around him.
“I’ll torture the fuck out of you,” a man later said in the video, looking at the camera. Another male voice can be heard adding: “There’s going to be a murder here.”“I’ll torture the fuck out of you,” a man later said in the video, looking at the camera. Another male voice can be heard adding: “There’s going to be a murder here.”
In the footage, the victim does not appear to try to defend himself or escape. The victim was tied up in a corner for around four hours, according to Duffin.
Police said the victim was discovered by patrol officers on Tuesday, disoriented and confused, and transported to a local hospital for treatment. Officers later responded to a battery at a residence nearby where “they discovered signs of a struggle and damage to the property” and linked the case to the hospitalized man, police added. Officials said a neighbor eventually called police to complain about the noise, which prompted the sisters to get into a confrontation with the caller and kick in the door, leading to the burglary charges. At that point, police said the victim escaped.
Officer Michael Donnelly, who encountered the victim, said: “He was bloodied. He was battered.”
The victim was hospitalized, and officers said they quickly realized he was the subject of the video circulating on social media.
Duffin said the victim was initially engaged in a “play fight” with Hill, but that the confrontation escalated. He said police had no indication of whether the victim was a Trump supporter.
A grandmother of one of the suspects told the Associated Press that the granddaughter she had raised from infancy is “not this person”.A grandmother of one of the suspects told the Associated Press that the granddaughter she had raised from infancy is “not this person”.
“I’m so upset, my head is about to bust open,” said Priscilla Covington of Chicago, who said she spoke to her granddaughter just days ago.“I’m so upset, my head is about to bust open,” said Priscilla Covington of Chicago, who said she spoke to her granddaughter just days ago.
“I don’t know if someone influenced her ... She had her ups and down. [She] was a good person,” said Covington.“I don’t know if someone influenced her ... She had her ups and down. [She] was a good person,” said Covington.
A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement: “We do not allow people to celebrate or glorify crimes on Facebook and have removed the original video for this reason. In many instances, though, when people share this type of content, they are doing so to condemn violence or raise awareness about it. In that case, the video would be allowed.”A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement: “We do not allow people to celebrate or glorify crimes on Facebook and have removed the original video for this reason. In many instances, though, when people share this type of content, they are doing so to condemn violence or raise awareness about it. In that case, the video would be allowed.”
It’s unclear how long the Facebook video remained on the site. Asked if police had any indication why the suspects live-streamed the incident, Duffin replied: “I can’t understand why anybody puts anything on Facebook.”