An African-American special education teacher who doubles as a musician says he was assaulted by members of a white nationalist group in Boston in 2022 and is now seeking legal action.
The lawsuit aims to hold the organization accountable and deplete its financial resources, ultimately aiming to cause the organization’s internal collapse.
Charles Murrell III’s legal team filed the lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, in US District Court in Massachusetts. Murrell and his attorneys claim the Patriot Front conspired to violate Murrell’s civil rights and committed civil assault and battery.
According to the complaint, on July 2, 2022, the teacher was playing his saxophone near the Boston Public Library when he was confronted by members of the Patriot Front, who launched a “coordinated, brutal, and racially motivated attack” on him as he performed.
They approached him during a 100-man flash demonstration by the Texas-based organization in the city. They marched along the Freedom Trail and selected famous Boston landmarks, dressed uniformly in khaki pants, dark shirts, hats, sunglasses, and face coverings, and shouted their mantra, “Reclaim America.”
Murrell, 36, claims he tried to film them coming down the street on his phone when he heard someone yell “tar” before they surrounded him and started to beat him down. He believed “tar” was a reference to his race.
The lawsuit names the organization, its founder Thomas Rousseau and several other unknown assailants as John Does.
The lawsuit serves several purposes, according to Licha Nyiendo, the chief legal officer at Human Rights First, the organization representing Murrell.
The activist said their objective is to bankrupt Patriot Front, The Associated Press reports, similar to the way other white supremacist groups were hit with a $26 million judgment after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
“Our goal is to decimate this extremist group and bring a national spotlight to the dangers of their extremist ideology,” Nyiendo said.
Another reason the lawsuit is coming is to set an example for Murrell’s students, particularly the ones of color.
“Because I am a teacher, because I come from special education, I am filing this suit so that even if one of them has a safer sidewalk to walk on, the work that I am doing will have been very much worth it,” Murrell said.
The claim says the Patriot Front members were wearing masks as they physically assaulted Murrell. They utilized riot shields to strike him and trapped him against a lamppost. Subsequently, some of them approached and forcefully brought Murrell to the ground, where they proceeded to strike and kick him, he alleges.
Murrell was allegedly beaten so badly that he had to be taken to the hospital to have his injuries to his face, head, and hand treated, his complaint stated. While doctors were able to mend his lacerations with stitches, other injuries were not so easy to fix.
“Mr. Murrell also continues to suffer significant emotional distress to this day as a result of the incident. Among other harms, those physical and emotional injuries have adversely affected Mr. Murrell’s ability to earn a living as a musician,” the complaint continued.
The victim has “been plagued by severe anxiety, mental anguish, invasive thoughts, and emotional distress, including, but not limited to, persistent concern for his physical safety and loss of sleep,” and “routinely has nightmares and flashbacks.”
The Patriot Front has already released a statement on Tuesday, Aug. 8, claiming that the plaintiff “is not telling the truth.”
The lawyer for the Patriot Front, Jason Lee Van Dyke, said he has evidence that will vindicate his clients.
“I happen to have seen the raw video footage, and it was clear that Charles Murrell was the aggressor and no one with Patriot Front did anything unlawful,” he said.
“His assertion that he was beaten is factually incorrect,” Van Dyke added.
As of the time the lawsuit was released, no one has been charged in connection to the alleged attack. According to the Suffolk district attorney’s office, the investigation remains open, the Boston Globe reports.
