Tomi Lahren is furious that the widely covered and universally condemned attack on a disabled white man has not provoked as much coverage or outrage as the fatal shootings of nine black worshipers in a South Carolina church.
The conservative commentator was angry that police did not immediately describe the incident as a hate crime, although all four suspects were charged with a hate crime and several other felonies after a day-long investigation.
"Chicago police aren't sure if it was politically motivated," Lahren said. "Are you freaking kidding me? This is the definition of a hate crime, and these four sick individuals deserve a seat on death row right next to Dylann Roof."
The Chicago assailants, all of whom are black and ages 18 to 24, said "f*ck white people" and "f*ck Donald Trump" as they cut the victim's hair and clothing with a knife, and the man's family said he was traumatized by the attack.
"Times like these, we have to wonder, where are the parents?" Lahren said. "Not just (Wednesday), but when these four were growing up? Because the breakdown of the American family has left young people -- especially in the inner cities -- with no role models. That's why they turn to celebrities and rap stars who chant 'eff Trump' for guidance and leadership."
She argued that popular culture made attacks like this more acceptable in the minds of some, although she didn't offer any examples beyond the four "thugs" who were arrested and charged in the case.
"If the race roles were reversed here, can you imagine the coverage?" Lahren said. "The race of the assailants would be plastered on every deadline from here to Timbuktu, but if it doesn't fit the race-baiting agenda of the left and their cohorts in the mainstream, it doesn't quite get the same attention."
The case was widely covered in U.S. and international media, and President Barack Obama condemned the attack as "despicable," but Lahren dismissed those reports with a casual what-if.
"If this thing wasn't paraded on Facebook Live, the mainstream would have likely diluted, dismissed or outright ignored it," she said. "If it bleeds, it leads -- but only if it's the right color, huh?"
She even shrugged off the president's statements about the case because they were made during a one-on-one interview, rather than a news conference convened for the occasion.
"I can't and I won't sit here and say this was a Black Lives Matter-motivated act -- we don't know that," Lahren said. "I do hope the group comes out and makes it clear these thugs are not what BLM stands for -- I hope to see that."
Deray Mckesson, one of the most prominent activists in the Black Lives Matter movement, tweeted out a statement Thursday morning denouncing the Chicago attack, and police have found no link between the assault and the civil rights group.
