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White Man Accused Of Terrorizing Black Family Over BLM Sign, Including Firing A Gun Into Their Home
Michael Frederick is accused of targeting the home of Army veterans Eddie and Candace Hall in Warren, Michigan after they put a Black Lives Matters sign in their front window.
A white Michigan man allegedly terrorized a Black family, including firing a gun into their home, after he became enraged by a Black Lives Matter sign in their window, according to authorities.
Michael Frederick, 24, was arraigned on nine charges, eight of them felonies, on Thursday for allegedly attacking the home of Eddie and Candace Hall and their children in Warren, the Detroit News reports.
The couple had displayed a Black Lives Matter sign in their front window, which investigators believed triggered two attacks by Frederick in early September. Gunshots were fired at their home, and a bullet and a rock were thrown through their front window, NBC News reports. Their vehicles were targeted too: tires were slashed and they were vandalized with racist threats. A swastika and the phrases “not welcome” and “terrorist Black Lives Matter” were scrawled on their pickup.
The Warren Police Department called the attacks “HATE Based crimes” in a press release. Among the charges against Frederick are three counts of ethnic intimidation, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Warren Police Department Commissioner William Dwyer called the attacks “disgusting" and “unacceptable" and a "hate crime" during a news conference last month.
“It’s not going to be tolerated,” he said. “This has got to stop. It has got to stop immediately.”
He called it "serious stuff" and said that it's a relief that nobody was hurt or killed in the attacks against the Halls, who are both Army veterans.
"They serve their country," Dwyer said of the Halls. "And then, they come back to this."
During Frederick's arraignment, he apologized for the attack on the Halls.
“I’m extremely regretful of what I did. I can say it’s not like me,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “I acted way out of character. This wasn’t about the color of anyone’s skin.”
He said he wanted them to forgive him.
Meanwhile, Judge Michael Chupa kept telling Frederick to stop discussing the case and expressed disgust if the allegations were true.
“People should be able to reasonably disagree about politics without it resorting to violence,” Chupa said. “Using violence, whether motivated by race or politics or hatred or acrimony — I don’t care, that is not what America is about.”
The judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. His bond was set at $200,000. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.
Frederick also allegedly admitted to writing "pedophile" at a different property a few blocks away that featured signs for Democratic candidates, according to the Free Press. He faces separate charges in that incident.
The Halls were at home with their children during at least one of the attacks.
“There’s nothing I can do to comfort my family,” Eddie said at the press conference last month. “My daughter is terrified; she doesn’t even want to be in the house.”
He said he has lived in the town for six years and has never had any trouble before.
"For something to happen like this, it's a violation of my rights," he said. "My own safety place is at home."
Candace even told the then-unknown attacker at the time that they forgive him.
"We want you to get some help," she said.
