Riot Killing Called Not a Hate Crime
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A black youth accused of assaulting a white man during Seattle’s Feb. 27 Mardi Gras riot will not be charged with a hate crime.
King County prosecutor Norm Maleng said that Khalid Adams’ statement that he “most likely” kicked the man because he was white was not enough for a hate-crime prosecution.
Adams, 17, was charged with joining a group of young men who were kicking the man on the ground.
Prosecutors would have had to show that he joined the melee intending to target a white victim. Instead, Maleng said, it appeared Adams just got caught up in the violence.
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