OfficerBlueChicago, IL – Brittany Covington, 19, was sentenced on Friday for a hate crime which received national attention after a disabled white man was kidnapped and tortured by a group of black suspects. Covington live-streamed the torture while using racial slurs.
As part of a plea deal, Covington was only sentenced to probation, with no prison time, according to Chicago Tribune.
The incident initially occurred when the mentally-disabled victim met an acquaintance in Streamwood at a McDonalds on Dec. 31.
Jordan Hill picked the unsuspecting victim up in a stolen van and the two were going to spend the night at Hill’s house. The victim, who was unaware the van was stolen, spent the next two days with Hill driving around Chicago’s west side, visiting friends.
On Jan. 3, the two ended up at an apartment in the 3300 block of West Lexington Avenue, where they met Brittany and Tanishia Covington.
The visit turned violent at some point in the van. After arriving at the apartment, the special-needs man was taunted and tortured for what went on be for four to five hours. Two live-stream videos surfaced after the incident.
One video showed the man being forced to walk on all fours and to drink from a toilet bowl as he was slapped. The victim was then bound and his mouth taped shut as the attackers Live Streamed it and shouted “Fuck Donald Trump. Fuck White People,” at him.
The bound victim’s scalp was cut open with a knife, and one suspect put a foot on the victim’s head and wrapped a cord around his neck, while one of the suspects said, “Should I shank his ass?” At some point, the victim was stabbed in the arm.
According to officials, the victim was able to escape only after a downstairs neighbor threatened to call the police about the noise around 5:30 PM. The attackers reportedly left the apartment to kick in the neighbor’s door, and the victim escaped.
The victim was later found disoriented by CPD officers in the 11th precinct and taken to an area hospital for treatment. After the Live Stream video surfaced, they were able to connect the victim and the four suspects responsible.
During the 30-minute Live Stream of the assault, comments can be heard such as:
“Fuck Donald Trump! Fuck white people!”
“This jihad yo.”
“Let’s free him so we can smoke his ass.”
“Why y’all watching but ain’t commentin’ and shit?”
“This bitch represent Donald Trump! He deserve dis shit!”
“We fi’in to put dis mu’fuckas in da trunk and put a … brick on da gas and … [incoherent howling]. Just watch the Chicago news!”
*“Ni****s be drunk as shit, don’t even…”
“His ass deserve this. He from Europe… He a bug!”
“You talk about ‘put ‘im out his misery,’ aaahhhh-haha… naw, we can’t do dat on [Facebook] Live.”
“Goofy-ass white man… Ahhhhh! His bitch-ass CRYIN’!
*I just wanna WIIIND UP and BEAT dis ni***.*
“There’s gon’ be a MURRRRDER! The wait is almost over!”
*“I’ll torture the fuck outta you, ni***!”*
Tanishia Covington, Brittany Covington, Jordan Hill, and Tesfaye Cooper, were later arrested and charged with hate crimes for the attack.
Cook County Circuit Judge William Hooks sentenced Covington on Friday to 200 hours of community service and 4 years of probation, saying that he wasn’t sending her to prison because “I’m not sure if I did that you’d be coming out any better.”
Cases against the other three suspects are still pending.