The St. Louis County Attorney’s Office reportedly declined to pursue charges against the two white men who assaulted a Black woman at a local bar, but the Duluth City Attorney’s Office says that they will.
The Duluth Police Department said the city’s lawyer will charge Scott Rabold, 41, and Mylon Griak, 56, both of Duluth, with fifth-degree assault after SLCAO decided not to, without giving a comment on the rationale.
Officials in Duluth believe that there is enough evidence to get a successful conviction for the charges put forth by the city attorney, pointing mostly to surveillance video of the assault from inside the Rustic Bar from Tuesday, Sept. 12, that left the victim with traumatic brain injuries, a condition that could lead to an impediment with cognitive ability.
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On Sept. 18, the DPP released a statement saying the footage shows the victim, Michelle Folson, 39, and another woman “having a conversation that turned physical.”
“That’s when two males became involved in the confrontation and assaulted the female,” the statement continued, according to Bring Me The News.
In addition to the security video, Folson posted images of her injuries on social media, sharing with her followers that she was kicked in the head and left unconscious outside the West Duluth establishment.
Her daughter created a GoFundMe page to detail the incident, which she believes should be classified as a “hate crime.”
According to the doctor, Folson’s clothes and shoes had drag marks on them that showed that she was being “dragged on her side.”
When she finally “woke up,” after being jumped by the men, she found herself “alone in the dark parking lot of the bar.” The victim gathered herself up and walked about four to five minutes to reach her daughter, believing her child would help her.
The daughter says her mother’s teeth went through her lip, she had two swollen black eyes, a gash between her eyebrows, and her head was swollen and blood was everywhere.
“I called 911 right away and they rushed her to the hospital in an ambulance to treat her injuries. It is known that some of the situation took place in the bar and they never called the police or helped my mother,” Katasia Khabeer wrote.
When police arrived, according to one report, they rushed her to the hospital in an ambulance.
Officers watched the bar’s surveillance footage, which depicted Folson being assaulted by the men who knew the woman she was arguing with before they intervened. The two women will not face charges.
Community leaders and activists are calling for the men to be held accountable, noting that witnesses said that no one at the bar even tried to call 911 or step in and intervene. They also said that the on-duty bartender had blood washed off the premises before authorities arrived.
