Campaign rallies for Donald Trump are often bigoted, racist and, in the case of Mercutio Southall, led to a violent beating. Now Southall is ready to sue for a hate crime in the state of Alabama. According to his attorney, David Gespass, they are filing a complaint with an Alabama magistrate for misdemeanor assault charges against the men who were seen kicking and dragging Southall during a Trump rally held in Birmingham. Because he was called the N-word and a monkey while being assaulted, his lawyer feels the assault has risen to the status of a felony hate crime. In Alabama, a felony assault victim must have suffered serious injury or a deadly weapon must have been used. According to Gespass, because Southall was called racial slurs and Trump supporters used their feet as a weapon, the assault is a felony.
As Southall was being assaulted, Trump yelled out “Get him the hell out of here, will you please?” which egged on the beating that Southall received. As such, Trump may be implicated in a conspiracy.
“It would seem to me, and this is, again, something that must be thought through more carefully, that aiding and abetting a crime makes you a participant … And particularly given the history of incidents such as this at other places, I would say that Trump has a moral and very possibly a legal responsibility to do what he can to ensure people’s safety,” Gespess stated.
Southall suffered a concussion as a result of the assault at the Trump rally.
