A 61-year-old White American Man Charged with a Hate Crime After Attacking a Latino

Over the years, the numbers of hate crime in the United States has increased. Hate crime is considered a form of criminal offense when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his race, color, or religion. Earlier this week, a 61-year-old man was accused of racist attack after harassing a Latino in Milwaukee by throwing battery acid in the victim's face.

A Milwaukee man is now facing hate-crime charges after he attacked Mahud Villalaz, a Latino, who is left with second-degree burn. According to report of the Washington Post , the suspect is the 61-year-old Clifton Blackwell who is now charged with first-degree reckless injury in a hate crime using a dangerous weapon.

First-degree reckless injury has a penalty of 25 years imprisonment and a fine of $100,000. However, the penalties could be stiffer including 10 or more years imprisonment if the prosecutor decides to pursue hate crime and dangerous weapon enhancement.

During the press conference a day after the assault, Villalaz said that he parked his card at around 8:30 in the evening in front of a restaurant when a man approached and chastise him. The suspect told the victim to go back to his country and not to invade America. However, instead of getting into an argumentation, he moved or transferred his car in another space. Unfortunately, the man waited outside the victim's car holding a bottle in his hands and threw to it the victim's face after Villalaz went out to his car.

Villalaz managed to run inside the restaurant, asked for a help and washed his face to avoid further complications. The Milwaukee Police Department responded immediately in the said incident. It can be recalled also that the police department did not release at first the identity of the perpetrator. However, they only release the name the suspect after conducting series of investigations and after the Hispanic group asked justice in the said attack.

The said incident was called a hate crime and even the largest Hispanic group pressed the Milwaukee Police department last week to file hate crime charges to the man as soon as possible. The Hispanic group added that what motivates the perpetrators is the rhetoric language of President Trump that shows bias and hatred towards the immigrants. It can be remembered that aside from the recent hate crime attack, there were other attacks also in the country for the past few months. Just this year, more than 15 cases were recorded just in border shooting and killing alone.

According to the police, they verified the entry of Mahud Villalaz in the United States because it can be recalled that during the press conference he told the man that he is U.S. citizen too and anyone came in the country looking for a better life. The Milwaukee Police Department said that Villalaz is 42 years old and grew up in Peru. He immigrated in the United states when he was young and became a U.S. citizen in 2013.

The suspect cannot deny the incident because a surveillance camera captured the horrifying attack to the Latino man. Meanwhile, Villalaz did not only describe the incident as a hate crime but also a racist and terrorist attack.

Moreover, the family of Villalaz through his sister is now raising funds through the GoFundMe for the medical expenses needed.

Read more: Man charged with a hate crime in acid attack that left a Latino man with second-degree burns and Milwaukee man charged with hate crime in racist acid attack, authorities say