A racist white man has been arrested and charged with federal hate crimes after authorities say he relentlessly harassed Black families in a Milwaukee-area neighborhood. At least four of them have moved out of the area as a result.
FBI agents arrested 44-year-old William McDonald earlier this week outside of his West Allis apartment. When officers placed McDonald in handcuffs, they searched his pockets and found a note with a racial slur tucked inside of a plastic bag, similar to a note left on a Black couple’s car just a few blocks away, Fox 6 News reported.
“Another note saying, ‘Get out of the neighborhood,’ telling me, ‘Go back to the north side,’ pretty much,” Reginald Wilkerson, one of the people who received the notes, told the outlet.
In addition to the notes, Wilkerson and his partner Tanathie Addison, reported having seven tires slashed and a window broken. Court records indicate the couple is two of nine victims in the area.
“We’re pretty much the target right now, but we want to make sure if someone else moves here, that’s of our skin tone –– Black, brown whatever it is –– that they shouldn’t have to go through this,” Wilkerson said.
Other victims in the area came forward to report the notes and damage prompting the FBI to conduct surveillance in the area. That’s how they were able to connect the threats to McDonald.
McDonald has denied writing the notes and is set to appear in federal court sometime soon. He could face up to a year in prison if he’s convicted.
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