Four African-Americans Charged with Hate Crime in Brutal & Despicable Attack on a Mentally Disabled White Man

MAKE THAT HATE CRIMES X’S 2 … RACIALLY MOTIVATED AND ATTACK ON MENTALLY DISABLED PERSON …

Four blacks, Jordan Hill, 18, Tesfaye Cooper, 18, and sisters Brittany Covington, 18, and Tanishia Covington, 24, have all been charged with hate crimes, among others, in the kidnapping and viscous attack on a white, mentally disabled individual. According to reports, the victim had been reported missing and spent at least 24 hours and possibly up to 48 hours with the suspects. The four suspects kidnapped, tied up, beat and tortured disabled, special needs, mentally disabled man and streamed it on video on Facebook Live.

Charged in the attack were Jordan Hill, 18, of Carpentersville; Tesfaye Cooper, 18, of Chicago; and sisters Brittany Covington, 18, and Tanishia Covington, 24, who lived in an apartment in the 3300 block of West Lexington Street where the assault allegedly took place.

The four — who are all African-American — were each charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to police. Hill also was charged with robbery, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and residential burglary, while both Covingtons were charged with residential burglary, police said.

Police said all four have given statements admitting to their roles in the alleged attack. They’re scheduled to appear for a bond hearing Friday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

Late Thursday, David Boyd, who identified himself as the victim’s brother-in-law, said in a brief statement to reporters that the family was grateful for “all the prayers and efforts” that led to his safe return.

“He’s doing well, as well as he could be at this time,” Boyd said. He said “everyone has seen the video” but declined to comment on what he thought of it.

“We appreciate all the support from everyone,” Boyd said, adding they were focused on “trying to stick together as a family.”

Lame duck president Barack Obama appears to have finally acknowledged the hideous crime as a hate crime, well kinda. Earlier in the day on Thursday, at a White House press briefing, press secretary Josh Earnest declined to say whether the alleged crime amounted to a hate crime but called it “disturbing” and said the images demonstrate “a level of depravity that is an outrage to a lot of Americans.” Really, the WH could not just call this for what it was? Under pressure to react to the obvious and a double standard of labeling and reacting to past so-called hate crimes, President Obama later was forced to say, “we appear to have seen” a hate crime in the alleged attack on a Chicago man captured on Facebook. Obama went on to blame the internet for exposing long simmering racial tensions. Really Mr. President? Maybe you are to blame for them.

President Barack Obama called the news from his hometown “despicable” and said the Internet has exposed long simmering racial tensions.

“What we have seen as surfacing, I think, are a lot of problems that have been there a long time,” Obama told a Chicago-area television station in a prearranged interview in Washington. “Whether it’s tensions between police and communities, (or) hate crimes of the despicable sort that has just now recently surfaced on Facebook.”

The four will be in court today. I can only imagine what their defense attorney will concoct. Not guilty of course.