A Black woman who was a victim of a hate crime may have some solace after it was found that the perpetrator who slashed her tires, smashed her windshield and left a note with racial slurs on her vehicle has been charged with one felony count and one misdemeanor count of intimidating and interfering.
On Thursday, William McDonald, 45, pleaded guilty in court after he was accused of harassing Black residents “because of their race and because they were exercising their right to fair housing,” according to a We Are Green Bay report.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, after McDaniel vandalized the woman’s car, he threatened to slash her throat and demanded she moves out of West Allis, a Wisconsin neighborhood where they both reside. One week later, he gave her an ultimatum to leave the neighborhood or “suffer violence.”
“No one should feel unsafe in their home or be subjected to harmful and derogatory threats because of the color of their skin,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to protect the housing rights of all individuals and vigorously prosecute those who use racially-charged threats to drive people from their homes.”
More recently, McDaniel vandalized the property of a Black woman and her two children who recently moved to his neighborhood. He sprayed their front door with racial graffiti and left a racist note calling the family a racial slur.
“The conduct at issue, in this case, strikes at the very core of the civil rights guaranteed to every American citizen under federal law,” stated U.S. Attorney Haanstad. “I commend the courage of those targeted by Mr. McDonald for coming forward. The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to working with all our federal, state, and local partners to hold individuals who violate the civil rights of others fully accountable under federal law.”
