Montel Williams (David Shankbone)
TV personality Montel Williams blasted the four Black people in Chicago who broadcast the torture of a mentally disabled white man on Facebook Live. Williams held nothing back in the Facebook post he made Thursday, Jan. 5, which he shared after police took the torturers into custody.
“Life in prison, no parole,” Williams wrote. “I’m not interested in whether these kids had a tough life, whether their parents loved them enough, I don’t care.”
The radio host said whether or not the incident was a hate crime was “irrelevant” and instead noted, “This is the cold-blooded torture of an innocent human being.”
“That’s bigger than a hate crime,” Williams added. “It’s bigger than racism (saying F— white people is racist by definition), it’s bigger than politics.”
Life in prison. No parole. I’m not interested in whether these kids had a tough life, whether their parents loved them…
Posted by Montel Williams on Thursday, January 5, 2017
Local police said they were made aware of the 30-minute Facebook Live video on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Atlanta Black Star reported two men and one woman are seen holding the victim down while hitting and kicking him. The perpetrators also cut the captive man’s pants legs and shirt sleeves and forced him to drink from a toilet.
The following day, authorities charged 18-year-olds Tesfaye Cooper, Brittany Covington — also known as Brittany Herring — Jordan Hill and 24-year-old Tanishia Covington with a hate crime, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint and residential burglary.
For Williams, the hate-crime charge was a welcome one.
Additionally, the Navy vet said, regardless of the way Black people feel about conservatives calling for increased policing of hate crimes, everyone should agree that a crime committed based on prejudice needs a harsher punishment.
“Men should be protected same as women, white same as Black, Christian same as Jews, Muslims, atheists, gay same as straight – seems simple, fair and something there is no reason to disagree with,” Williams said.
