A Washington state man identified as William Cunningham is facing felony hate crime charges after video footage captured him hurling racial slurs as he threatened a Black student who was involved in an altercation with his daughter and her boyfriend.
The incident in the Seattle exurb of Monroe, Washington, occurred nearly two months ago on Nov. 10, local station King 5 reported, when Cunningham’s daughter, who is white, shoved a friend of a Black male student in the hallway.
According to records obtained by the station, the young man later confronted Cunningham’s daughter and her boyfriend in the school’s parking lot.
Threats were exchanged, and then the incident turned physical when the boyfriend reportedly pushed the young man, who then grabbed the boyfriend’s shirt. The daughter reportedly also hit the young man in the head with a water bottle.
After their initial tussle was over and the Black student was still nearby talking to friends, the daughter allegedly made a video call to her father and walked to the Black student so that her father could see his face.
Video footage captured the father making death threats, telling the young man, “going to [expletive] all you [N-word] up. If I see you, I’ll kill you,” and other racial expletives, court documents stated.
“He said he’s a white cracker, and he’ll [expletive] all you [N-word] up. You want to act ignorant?” she said, according to court records. Addressing her boyfriend, she added, “My dad says you got something metal in the car smack that [expletive] in his mouth right now.”
In a statement, Monroe police revealed that during their investigation they learned that Cunningham and his daughter went to the Black student’s workplace and followed him around for 20 minutes. The two were eventually banned from the establishment.
Cunningham reportedly admitted to the allegations. He is expected to be arraigned in Snohomish County Superior Court on Jan. 19.
Earlier this week, the school district released a statement acknowledging the incident, stating: “We are horrified that someone, especially an adult, would threaten one of our students in this way. There is no place for hate in the Monroe School District, and we will take action to remove access to school sites for anyone who threatens students and staff.”
The victim has since transferred out of the school.
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