CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on the beating of a white man in Chicago that was broadcast live on Facebook (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
A judge has denied bond for four suspects accused in the beating of a mentally disabled man broadcast live on Facebook.
The four appeared before Cook County Associate Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil on Thursday afternoon, when she asked them “Where was your sense of decency?”
The four are charged with hate crimes and aggravated kidnapping and battery, among other charges. Authorities say the four black suspects assaulted the white suburban teenager, threatening him with a knife and taunting him with profanities against white people and President-elect Donald Trump.
The suspects include Brittany Covington and Tesfaye Cooper, both of Chicago, and Jordan Hill, of suburban Carpentersville. All are 18. A fourth suspect was identified as Covington’s 24-year-old sister, Tanishia Covington, also of Chicago.
Extra security at the hearing included about a dozen sheriff’s deputies.
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12:15 p.m.
Two suspects in the beating of a mentally disabled man broadcast live on Facebook have criminal pasts that include serious charges.
Chicago police say 18-year-old Jordan Hill is suspected of taking the victim in a stolen van to a Chicago house where he was beaten this week. Hill was arrested as a juvenile in 2015 on charges including armed robbery, unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and residential burglary. It’s unclear if he was convicted
Police say 24-year-old Tanishia Covington is accused of kicking in the door of a neighbor who complained about noise during this week’s attack. In 2007, she was arrested as a juvenile for felony attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery.
Police say records show that the other two suspects — Covington’s sister, 18-year-old Brittany Covington, and 18-year-old Tesfaye Cooper — had past arrests for non-violent offenses.
All four are scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
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11:10 a.m.
An online fundraising effort to help the mentally disabled victim of a Chicago beating that was broadcast live on Facebook has brought in more than $42,000 so far.
Bartlett Jackson is a regional communications manager with the online fundraising website GoFundMe. He confirms the victim’s family is working directly with the company on the campaign.
Four black suspects are charged with battery, kidnapping and hate crimes in connection to the attack of the white 18-year-old victim. Authorities say the victim was tied up for four to five hours.
Excerpts of a video posted by Chicago media outlets show assailants cutting off his sweatshirt and taunting him.
The GoFundMe campaign called “Let’s show the Chicago victim love” had raised $42,408 from more than 1,500 donors as of Friday morning.
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9:25 a.m.
Chicago police say drug use may have played a role in the beating of a mentally disabled white teenager by four black suspects that was broadcast live on Facebook.
The suspects are scheduled to appear in court Friday. They were charged on Thursday with hate crimes, battery, kidnapping and other charges.
Chicago Police Commander Kevin Duffin says the video shows two suspects smoking cigars that authorities “presume to be blunts.” Duffin says the video shows the two sisters smoking while the victim is tied up, and at the same time racial slurs and references “to his mental capacity starts coming out.”
The slurs include profanities against white people and President-elect Donald Trump.
Video of the beating has been viewed millions of times on social media.
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9:10 a.m.
Police say the parents of a young man whose beating was broadcast live on Facebook received text messages while he was missing from someone claiming to be holding him captive.
The victim’s parents reported their 18-year-old son missing on Monday in Streamwood, a Chicago suburb.
The parents said they hadn’t heard from their son since New Year’s Eve, when he said he was going to sleepover at a friend’s house. His mother told police she feared her son hadn’t taken medication for a mental health disorder.
Streamwood police say the parents later “began receiving text messages from persons claiming to be holding him captive.” While investigating the messages, police discovered the Facebook video. Chicago police later reported the man had been located.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and haven’t said who may have sent the messages.
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12 a.m.
Two men and two women accused in the brutal beating of a mentally disabled man that was streamed on Facebook Live are scheduled to make their first court appearances Friday.
Eighteen-year-olds Brittany Covington, Tesfaye Cooper and Jordan Hill, and 24-year-old Tanishia Covington each face hate crime, kidnapping and battery charges in connection with the attack. All four suspects are black and the victim is white.
Authorities say the hate crime charges resulted from both the suspects’ use of racial slurs and their references to the victim’s disability.
Video of the incident was captured on a cellphone by one of the alleged assailants and viewed by millions on social media.
The uproar over the beating has intensified the glare on Chicago after a year of violent crime and protests against Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the police department.
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