We’ve all heard about the long list of hate crimes that have occurred since Donald Trump’s shocking victory in the presidential election. But it turns out that one particularly appalling hate crime took place before the election at a Pennsylvania high school. Now the local prosecutor is seriously considering doing something about it.
Back in October, a white student at Saucon Valley High School in Lower Saucon Township, roughly halfway between Bethlehem and Easton, got the bright idea to record one of his black classmates taking part in a wing-eating contest. He peppered the video with disgustingly racist comments, such as “Look at the n***r eating chicken,” as well as comments about welfare. He then uploaded the video to Snapchat.
When the black student found out about the video, he tracked down the white student at a football game later that night and pummeled him in the head several times. He was arrested and charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. However, the case took a different turn on Wednesday when defendant’s attorney, Gary Asteak, showed the Snapchat video to Northampton County district attorney John Morganelli.
When Morganelli sat down with The (Allentown) Morning Call at his office in Easton after watching he video, he minced no words.
“I was outraged by it. It was repulsive. It was very insulting.”
When a prosecutor uses that kind of language, it’s not a good sign for anyone suspected of committing a crime. Morganelli didn’t waste any time taking action to back up his words. He launched an investigation to determine whether the Snapchat video violated Pennsylvania’s law against ethnic intimidation. The law, which is Title 18, Chapter 27, Section 2710 of the Pennsylvania Code, provides for stiffer punishments for people who commit crimes that are motivated by “malicious intention” toward the victim’s race, color, religion, or national origin.
To Morganelli’s mind, this was an easy call. He believes that if incidents like this don’t merit investigation, “this statute is meaningless.” He had learned that there is a clique of so-called “rednecks” at Saucon Valley who think it’s acceptable to harass their black classmates on account of their race. He believed this investigation would send a message to this crew that “this conduct is not permissible,” and if it crosses the line into criminal conduct, he won’t shy away from holding them to account in juvenile court.
Asteak applauded Morganelli’s decision to look into the video, saying that Lower Saucon Township police didn’t take into account that his client had been provoked by this racist pigweed. If authorities let this kind of nonsense go, Asteak said, it effectively tells kids “that words don’t matter.”
Morganelli had a sobering warning for anyone who thinks this sort of behavior is even remotely okay.
“I am also advising those out there who seek to intimidate others that this conduct cannot and will not be tolerated. All people have a right to the peaceful enjoyment of their lives.”
This move came as a shock to Saucon Valley School District officials. Superintendent Monica McHale-Small says that the district handled the matter internally, meeting with both sets of families in October. While she didn’t go into specifics, she denounced the Snapchat video as “incredibly vile.” I’d go further than that. It’s the social media equivalent of hanging a noose from a tree.
Morganelli has gotten bombarded with calls asking why a prosecutor should even bother to investigate this. He responded on Facebook.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. However, I’ll add something else. This sort of nonsense starts at home. After all, the kid who uploaded this video had to have learned somewhere that it was okay to pick on people just because they don’t look like you. According to The Morning Call, this sort of nonsense had been happening across the Lehigh Valley for some time before the election. This needs to be nipped in the bud, and it needs to be nipped in the bud now.
Let’s make one thing clear–that black student should have to answer for his attack at the football game. Regardless of how provoked he was, pummeling someone in the head cannot be condoned. However, it would have been a mockery of justice for the white student’s behavior to go unnoticed. In the wake of the racially-motivated attacks that have sprouted across the country since the election, it’s a good thing that at least one prosecutor is willing to take this seriously. Send Morganelli some love on Facebook and on Twitter–he’s going to need it.
