The story of the now-infamous livestreamed beating of a white, special needs man by four black Chicago teens now includes charges. The teens have been charged with battery and hate crimes, according to the Associated Press.
BREAKING: Hate crime, battery charges filed against four black suspects accused in beating of white man streamed live on Facebook.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 5, 2017
Chicago police had faced backlash online for hesitating to call the act a hate crime despite the video featuring the teens shouting “F**k white people!” and other racially-charged language. However, the hate crime angle police ended up working on on was the victim’s special needs, rather than his race.
#Chicago police: Victim in assault broadcasted over Facebook likely targeted because of his special needs, not race. https://t.co/k7fGvU1L91
— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) January 5, 2017
We’ll keep you posted with any update to the story.
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