2017 Chicago torture incident

Last updated
2017 Chicago torture incident
Location Chicago, Illinois
DateJanuary 3, 2017;7 years ago (2017-01-03)
Attack type
 Torture, kidnapping, stabbing, beating, hate crime
Weapons Knife
VictimUnnamed white male
Perpetrators
  • Jordan Hill
  • Tesfaye Cooper
  • Brittany Covington
  • Tanishia Covington
Motive Racism, ableism, ransom
Verdict Pleaded guilty
ConvictionsBrittany and Tanisha Covington:

Hill and Cooper:

SentenceHill:
8 years in prison
Cooper:
7 years in prison
Tanishia:
3 years in prison
Brittany:
4 years probation and 200 hours of community service

In January 2017, four perpetrators: Jordan Hill, Tesfaye "Teefies" Cooper, and Brittany and Tanishia Covington committed a hate crime and other offenses against a mentally disabled man in Chicago, Illinois. The attackers, two black men and two black women, laughed as they kidnapped and physically, verbally, and racially abused the white victim. The incident was livestreamed on Facebook.

Contents

The victim met with an acquaintance from high school at a McDonald's on New Year's Eve, and on January 3 was found by a police officer to appear to be suffering from numerous injuries while being led by one of the perpetrators on a sidewalk. The four perpetrators were arrested after the incident was livestreamed by one of them on Facebook Live, and were all given plea deals for hate crime charges and other offenses. The sentences ranged from probation to 8 years in prison.

Kidnapping and torture

On December 31, 2016, the victim, an 18-year-old mentally-disabled male, [1] [2] was dropped off by his parents at a McDonald's in suburban Streamwood, Illinois, where the victim wanted to meet Jordan Hill, one of the perpetrators. The victim knew Hill before the incident, as the two had attended the same school in Aurora, Illinois, and considered him a friend. On January 2, 2017, the victim's parents filed a report that he was missing. [3]

According to police reports, Hill had stolen a van, which he passed off as his own when he picked up the victim on December 31. Hill had the victim sleep in the van while he spent three nights visiting friends on the West Side of Chicago. On January 3, Hill and Tesfaye Cooper drove the victim to the apartment of sisters Brittany and Tanishia Covington, where the four tied up and tortured the victim for hours. [3]

Brittany, the younger of the two Covington sisters, began a Facebook Live stream, broadcasting the attackers laughing as they bound, gagged, beat, and taunted the victim, cut out part of his scalp with a knife, made him kiss the floor, and forced him to drink from a toilet. [3] [4] [1] They screamed "Fuck white people" and forced the victim to repeat them in shouting "Fuck Trump". [1] [5] One of the perpetrators contacted the victim's mother and demanded a $300 ransom for the victim's return. [6] The Facebook Live stream captured only 28 minutes of what was an hours-long attack. Police suspected that the perpetrators stopped and left the apartment when downstairs neighbors complained about noise levels. [3]

On January 3, at approximately 5:15 p.m., Harrison District Officer Michael Donnelly saw the victim walking with the perpetrator Hill. The victim was observed by Officer Donnelly to be wearing summer clothing during winter conditions. Police said the victim appeared "injured" and "confused". Donnelly later stated, "I observed him wearing a tank top, inside-out, backwards, jean shorts and sandals on...He was bloodied. He was battered. He was very discombobulated." [3] Running the victim's name through police databases, Officer Donnelly discovered that the victim was reported as a missing person and brought him to the hospital. [3]

Four perpetrators were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated battery, and hate crime: Jordan Hill and Tesfaye Cooper, two 18-year-old males, as well as sisters Brittany Covington (18 years old) and Tanishia Covington (24 years old). [1] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

On February 10, 2017, all four perpetrators pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. [12] On May 16, 2017, a judge set bail for the four individuals: $900,000 for Hill; $800,000 for Cooper; $500,000 for Brittany Covington; and $200,000 for Tanishia Covington. [13] None of the four defendants were able to post bail. [14]

On December 8, 2017, Brittany Covington pleaded guilty to the charges of committing a hate crime, intimidation and aggravated battery. Additional charges, such as kidnapping, were dropped as part of her plea deal. Covington was sentenced to four years of probation and 200 hours of community service. Cook County Circuit Judge William Hooks said that he could have sentenced her to prison, but stated "I'm not sure if I did that you'd be coming out any better." [15] [16]

On April 19, 2018, Tanishia Covington pleaded guilty to the charges of committing a hate crime, intimidation and aggravated battery and was sentenced to three years in prison. [17]

On July 5, 2018, Jordan Hill pleaded guilty to the charges of aggravated kidnapping and committing a hate crime and was sentenced to eight years in prison. [18] [19]

On July 12, 2018, Tesfaye Cooper pleaded guilty to a hate crime and aggravated kidnapping. [20] Cooper was sentenced to seven years in prison. [21]

Aftermath and reactions

The live stream was later deleted, but archives still exist. [1] There was widespread outrage over the beating. [22] In its aftermath, the hashtag #BLMKidnapping was trending on Twitter, implying a connection with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. [22] None of the attackers specifically mentioned Black Lives Matter in the video and the police found there to be no connection. [23] Representatives for Black Lives Matter's Chicago branch denounced the beating and stated that they were uninvolved, and police stated that they found no evidence that Black Lives Matter was the motive of the incident. [23] Some media pundits, such as Glenn Beck, suggested that the rhetoric of Black Lives Matter and its supporters had encouraged the attackers, while other commentators disputed this claim. [22] [24]

At the time, President Barack Obama released a statement condemning the incident, saying, "What we have seen as surfacing, I think, are a lot of problems that have been there a long time... Whether it's tensions between police and communities, (or) hate crimes of the despicable sort that has just now recently surfaced on Facebook." [3] [25] Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, "Anyone who has seen it [finds the video] both sickening and sickened by it," while Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and his wife Diana said that they were "deeply saddened and disturbed by the horrific violence" depicted in the live stream. [26]

Related Research Articles

A hate crime is crime where a perpetrator targets a victim because of their physical appearance or perceived membership of a certain social group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noose</span> Rope loop and knot

A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can be passed over.

Trev "Trev" G. Broudy is an American actor and former model. Broudy came to national attention when he became the victim of a violent attack in 2002, which touched off a national discussion of hate crimes, drawing comparisons to the Matthew Shepard case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom</span> 2007 carjacking, rape, and murder of a couple in Knoxville, Tennessee

Channon Gail Christian, aged 21, and Hugh Christopher Newsom Jr., aged 23, were from Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. They were kidnapped on the evening of January 6, 2007, when Christian's vehicle was carjacked. The couple were taken to a rental house. Both of them were raped, tortured, and murdered. Four males and one female were arrested, charged, and convicted in the case. In 2007, a grand jury indicted Letalvis Darnell Cobbins, Lemaricus Devall Davidson, George Geovonni Thomas, and Vanessa Lynn Coleman on counts of kidnapping, robbery, rape, and murder. Also in 2007, Eric DeWayne Boyd was indicted by a federal grand jury of being an accessory to a carjacking, resulting in serious bodily injury to another person and misprision of a felony. In 2018, Boyd was indicted on state-level charges of kidnapping, robbery, rape, and murder.

The Megan Williams case involves a 20-year-old African American woman from West Virginia, who was kidnapped, raped and tortured by six people, including several members of one family in a racist attack.

Crime rates in Alabama overall have declined by 17% since 2005. Trends in crime within Alabama have largely been driven by a reduction in property crime by 25%. There has been a small increase in the number of violent crimes since 2005, which has seen an increase of 9% In 2020, there were 511 violent crime offenses per 100,000 population. Alabama was ranked 44th in violent crime out of a total 50 states in the United States.

A racial hoax occurs when a person falsely claims that a crime was committed by member of a specific race. The crime may be fictitious, or may be an actual crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of violence against LGBT people in the United States</span>

The history of violence against LGBT people in the United States is made up of assaults on gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender individuals (LGBTQ), legal responses to such violence, and hate crime statistics in the United States of America. The people who are the targets of such violence are believed to violate heteronormative rules and they are also believed to contravene perceived protocols of gender and sexual roles. People who are perceived to be LGBT may also be targeted for violence. Violence can also occur between couples who are of the same sex, with statistics showing that violence among female same-sex couples is more common than it is among couples of the opposite sex, but male same-sex violence is less common.

"Knockout game" is one of the names given in the United States for assaults in which a person attempts to make an unsuspecting victim lose consciousness with a single sucker punch. The assaults have similarities to the happy slapping trend seen in Europe, in which camera phones are used to record assaults. Other names given to assaults of this type include "knockout", "knockout king", "point 'em out, knock 'em out", and "polar-bearing" or "polar-bear hunting". Serious injuries and even deaths have been attributed to the knockout game. Some news sources report that there was an escalation of such attacks in late 2013, and, in some cases, the attacker was charged with a hate crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of James Craig Anderson</span> 2011 hate crime murder

James Craig Anderson was a 47-year-old American man who was murdered in a hate crime in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 26, 2011, by 18-year-old Deryl Dedmon of Brandon. At the time of his death, Anderson was working on the assembly line at the Nissan plant in Canton, and raising an adopted son with his partner.

Hunter Edward Moore is an American convicted criminal from Sacramento, California. Rolling Stone called him "the most hated man on the Internet." In 2010, he created the revenge porn website Is Anyone Up? which allowed users to post sexually explicit photos of people online without their consent, often accompanied by personal information such as their names and addresses. He refused to take down pictures on request. Moore called himself "a professional life ruiner" and compared himself to Charles Manson. The website was up for 16 months, during which Moore stated several times he was protected by the same laws that protect Facebook. Moore also paid a hacker to break into email accounts of victims and steal private photos to post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Patrick's Day beating</span>

A tourist in Downtown Baltimore, Maryland was beaten, robbed, and stripped by several assailants on March 18, 2012, the day after Saint Patrick's Day and the celebrations that occurred. The video was posted online and went viral, and a negative internet response resulted. Four suspects were arrested and charged with acts related to the crime; all pleaded guilty and were sentenced by the criminal justice system.

Chrissy Lee Polis is a transgender woman who was beaten in an anti-transgender motivated hate crime on April 18, 2011, at a McDonald's in Rosedale, Maryland, just northeast of the city limits of Baltimore. A video of the beating was posted online and went viral. The attack had been conducted by teenage girls, aged 14 and 19. They were both prosecuted. The case heightened awareness of violence against transgender people in Maryland and protests were conducted.

In March 2015, two incidents of bullying and assaults occurred in Rowland Heights, California, with Chinese nationals as the perpetrators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Portland train attack</span> Racially-motivated harassment and stabbing on a train in Portland, Oregon

On May 26, 2017, Jeremy Joseph Christian fatally stabbed two men and injured a third after he was confronted for shouting racist and anti-Muslim slurs at two black teenagers, Destinee Mangum and Walia Mohamed, on a MAX Light Rail train in Portland, Oregon. Two of the victims, Ricky John Best of Happy Valley and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche of Portland, were killed; the third victim, Micah David-Cole Fletcher, survived with serious wounds.

Serena Chelsea "Serenity" McKay was an Indigenous woman from Manitoba, Canada, whose murder was video recorded and posted on social media—being streamed on Facebook Live, in particular. McKay preferred to go by the name "Serenity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Ee Lee</span> Murder of a Hmong-American woman in Wisconsin, United States

Ee Lee was an American woman who was raped and murdered by two black teenagers in a racially-motivated daylight attack in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The two perpetrators, Kamare Lewis and Kevin Spencer, pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide and second-degree sexual assault in 2023. Later that year, Lewis was sentenced to 26 years in prison, while Spencer was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Yao Pan Ma</span> Beating death of a Chinese American man in New York

Yao Pan Ma, a 61-year-old Chinese American, was attacked on April 23, 2021, before he was declared dead 8 months later on December 31, as a result of an attack by 49-year-old African American Jarrod Powell in East Harlem, New York City, United States. The racist attack drew national attention as part of a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Domonoske, Camila (2017-01-05). "4 Charged With Hate Crimes Over Beating Live-Streamed On Facebook". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  2. ↑ Levin, Sam; Jamieson, Amber (2017-01-05). "Four suspects charged with hate crimes over beating in Facebook Live video". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Meisner, Jason; Lee, William; Schmadeke, Steve (2017-01-05). "Brutal Facebook Live attack brings hate-crime charges, condemnation from White House". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  4. ↑ "Four charged with hate crime for Chicago Facebook Live attack". BBC News. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  5. ↑ What makes a crime a 'hate crime'? And would the Chicago attack qualify?, Washington Post, January 5, 2017
  6. ↑ Yan, Holly; Ellis, Ralph; Shoichet, Catherine E. (2017-01-06). "Chicago torture video: No bail for 4 suspects". CNN. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  7. ↑ "Four Charged With Hate Crime For Videotaped Torture Of Teen". CBS Chicago. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  8. ↑ "Hate Crime, Kidnapping Charges Filed Against 4 In Facebook Live Torture Case" . Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ Smith, Mitch; Davey, Monica (2017-01-05). "4 Black Suspects Charged in Videotaped Beating of White Teenager in Chicago" . The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  10. ↑ Grinberg, Emanuella (2017-01-05). "Chicago torture: Facebook Live video leads to 4 arrests". CNN. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  11. ↑ Berman, Mark; Hawkins, Derek (2017-01-05). "Hate crime charges filed after 'reprehensible' video shows attack on mentally ill man in Chicago" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  12. ↑ Narayan, Chandrika (2017-02-10). "Four charged in Facebook Live torture case plead not guilty". CNN. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  13. ↑ "$900K Bail for Man Charged in Facebook Live Torture Case". NBC Chicago. 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  14. ↑ Demarest, Erica (May 17, 2017). "Facebook Live Torture Suspects Still In Jail Despite Bail Reductions". DNAinfo Chicago. Archived from the original on 2017-08-05. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  15. ↑ Crepeau, Megan (December 8, 2017). "Woman pleads guilty to hate crime in beating of disabled teen live on Facebook". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  16. ↑ Grimm, Andy (2017-12-09). "Woman gets probation in Facebook hate-crime case". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  17. ↑ Crepeau, Megan (April 20, 2018). "Woman given prison for role in streaming live on Facebook a beating of teen with disabilities". Chicago Tribune.
  18. ↑ Andone, Dakin; Baldacci, Marlena (July 6, 2018). "Man sentenced to 8 years in beating of disabled teen streamed on Facebook Live". CNN. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Man sentenced for hate crime in live-streamed beating of mentally disabled teen". CBS NEWS. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Final defendant in videotaped beating case pleads guilty" . The Seattle Times. 2018-07-12. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  21. ↑ "Fourth suspect sentenced in live-streamed beating of disabled teen". CBS News.
  22. 1 2 3 Yan, Holly; Zdanowicz, Christina (2017-01-05). "Police: No link between Chicago torture video and Black Lives Matter". CNN. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  23. 1 2 Bauer, Kelly (2017-01-05). "'Ridiculous' To Blame Torture Video On Black Lives Matter, Activist Says". DNAinfo Chicago. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  24. ↑ "Glenn Beck Blames Black Lives Matter for Chicago Torture Video". The Daily Beast. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  25. ↑ "Obama: Chicago live-stream hate crime is 'despicable'". BBC News . 6 January 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  26. ↑ Main, Frank; Charles, Sam; Grimm, Andy (2017-01-04). "4 face hate crime charges in videotaped attack". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.