Prosecutors meet with Florida teens over possible hate crime
Source: Associated Press
By CURT ANDERSON
an hour ago
MIAMI (AP) — Prosecutors began taking sworn statements Thursday from a group of black Florida teenagers as they weigh possible hate crime charges against an armed white man who confronted the young people with apparent racial hostility during a housing inequality protest on Martin Luther King Day.
Several of the teenagers met for more than two hours with prosecutors about the incident involving Mark Bartlett, 51, and his girlfriend on a downtown Miami street. The group riding bicycles was blocking traffic to draw attention to their potential loss of affordable housing due to redevelopment in the impoverished Liberty City neighborhood.
Cellphone videos show Bartlett walking up to the group that was arguing loudly with his girlfriend. He had a handgun at his side and was yelling racial slurs, although he never pointed the weapon at anyone, according to an arrest report. Bartlett is charged so far with illegally carrying a concealed weapon, which is a felony.
“We know what we saw in the video, but it goes beyond that,” said Don Horn, chief assistant Miami-Dade County state attorney. “We’re going to do everything we can to see that justice is done in this case.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/fa5f7b8e769c4adcb862f3f33377525f
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