Facebook Live attack the latest in string of anti-Trump assaults

close

Video

Is Trump rhetoric to blame for Facebook live torture?

Horrific attack on a mentally disabled man whose captors yelled racial and anti-Donald Trump slurs is just the latest example of assailants who've invoked Trump's election during assaults #Tucker

The vicious attack on a mentally disabled Chicago man who was bound, gagged and beaten while his captors yelled racial and anti-Donald Trump slurs is just the latest example of violent attacks waged by assailants who’ve invoked Trump’s election during the assault.

While it’s unclear if some of the victims were Trump supporters, the common thread is the attackers’ hatred of Trump.

Another Chicago incident captured on video began innocuously in November when two cars scraped each other. The victim told The Chicago Tribune that when he asked someone from the other car if they had insurance, a group of men began beating him. The attack was recorded by someone nearby and caught some of the attackers saying phrases such as “You voted Trump?” and “Don’t vote Trump!”

VIDEO SHOWS MENTALLY DISABLED MAN TIED UP, BEATEN

Later that month, a 15-year-old student at a Maryland high school was beaten up by several people while wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. The assault came during a student walkout to protest Trump’s election.

A New York City man who also was wearing a hat emblazoned with Trump’s signature campaign slogan was attacked on the subway after a man asked him if he supported the president-elect.

“The next thing I know, I have hands around my neck and I’m being choked,” Corey Cataldo told ABC7. “I try to fight him off, and another gentleman comes over, pretends like he’s going to help me and says ‘get off of him.’ He shoves me up against the wall, up against the window.”

During an anti-Trump protest in Los Angeles that was organized shortly after his Nov. 8 win, an activist told a CNN reporter: “We can’t just do rallies. We have to fight back. There will be casualties on both sides.” She added: “People have to die.”

A survey also found that at least 2,000 educators around the country said they heard racial slurs and other derogatory remarks being used against white students in the days immediately following Trump’s victory, The New York Post reported.

Chicago – the site of both video-recorded attacks – was also the location of a March primary rally Trump was forced to cancel due to security concerns after protesters and supporters clashed.

But while these incidents have drawn little media attention, far more press has been given to alleged crimes committed by supposed Trump supporters. In many cases, these have later turned out to be hoaxes.

Among the more notable incidents: In November, a black man in Mississippi was arrested for spray-painting his own church with a “vote Trump” tag and lighting the house of worship on fire. Muslim women in Louisiana and New York have lied about assaults by alleged pro-Trump aggressors.