Four suspects have been charged with a hate crime in the brutal attack of a mentally disabled man that was recorded and posted online.
Police arrested the four alleged assailants Wednesday evening after they posted streaming video of the attack on Facebook Live, and authorities announced charges on Thursday afternoon, reported WGN-TV.
Jordan Hill, 18, of Carpentersville, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, robbery, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and residential burglary.
Tesfaye Cooper, 18, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and residential burglary.
Brittany Covington, 18, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and residential burglary.
Tanishia Covington, 24, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restrain and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Police found the 18-year-old victim Tuesday "in distress" after he was held hostage and tortured on the city's west side, officers said.
The assailants, who are black, taunted the victim for being white, although police believe he was targeted due to his disability -- which is protected under the Illinois hate crimes statute.
"we do not believe the victim was targeted because of his race or because of a political affiliation," said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for Chicago police.
The assailants made disparaging comments about Donald Trump and white people in the video and made the victim say he loved black people.
The victim's clothes and hair were cut with a knife during the assault.
Police said they found no evidence linking the attack to the Black Lives Matter movement, despite claims circulating on social media.
