LAPD seeks to question ‘people of interest’ in suspected hate crime
Los Angeles Police Department detectives want to question two men about a suspected hate crime committed last week in downtown Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, about the same time a mob of President Trump’s supporters overran the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., members of a pro-Trump crowd accosted a Black woman, Berlinda Nibo, near Los Angeles’ City Hall, Nibo previously told The Times. Nibo said people in the crowd yelled racial slurs, pulled off her wig, struck her and pepper-sprayed her face.
LAPD detectives have been investigating the incident as an alleged hate crime, and on Monday they said they want to speak with two men the department identified as “people of interest.”
One is a white man, 40 to 45 years old and about 6 feet tall. He was wearing sunglasses, a gray hat with an American flag emblem and a gray T-shirt with the number 45.
The other is a white man, 30 to 40 years old and about 6 feet tall. He was last seen wearing a black tactical vest, ripped jean shorts and a black cap. He was photographed carrying a megaphone at last week’s demonstration.
Anyone with information is asked to call (213) 996-1248 during business hours and (213) 486-6606 after hours.
“There is zero tolerance for crimes based in hate,” the LAPD said in a statement, “and the department will aggressively pursue every lead to bring individuals to justice.”
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