Trayvon Martin cited in case of black on white beating

theGRIO REPORT - Alton L. Hayes III, an African-American teenager from the Chicago area, has been accused of participating in a hate crime allegedly inspired by the Trayvon Martin case...

TheGrio Staff

Apr 23, 2012

According to reports, two Chicago teens robbed a man at “branch-point” Tuesday, then punched him a number of times. When questioned by the police later, the two said the attack was motivated by their feelings over the Trayvon Martin case.

Alton L. Hayes, III was one of the perpetrators. The 18-year-old and a friend, 15, are both African-American. According to reports, they walked up behind their alleged victim. The younger one held the man’s arms at his side while Hayes threatened him with a large branch saying, “Empty your pockets, white boy.”

They searched the 19-year-old man’s pockets before throwing him to the ground and hitting him in the head and the back. Hayes and his underage partner ran from the scene but were soon found by the police, arrested at gunpoint and charged with attempted robbery, aggravated battery and a perpetuating a hate crime. Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said that, when questioned by the police, Hayes said the attack was racially motivated.

Conservative blogger Robert Averach wrote of the event, “The mainstream media are not terribly interested in this story. That’s because their outrage is only a tactic in the liberal war against Conservatives. Liberals are not really upset about Trayvon Martin’s death. They only view Martin as a prop in their kabuki theater.”

The Gainesville Sun published another story in mid-April about a white man attacked by five to eight black men in Gainesville, Florida. The victim reported to police that the perpetrators yelled, “Trayvon” as they hit him. He was unable however to identify any one assailant or their vehicle because he was intoxicated.

The Toledo Blade had the story of a 78-year-old man attacked by six black youth. According to reports the man told police the boys, ages 11 to 17, said, “”[Get] that white [man]. This is for Trayvon…Trayvon lives, white [man]. Kill that white [man].”

After a brief investigation, the police found no evidence of a hate crime. Sgt. Phil Toney of the Toledo police department said, “After the investigation, it was revealed that the story told by Mr. Watts was somewhat exaggerated, although he was assaulted and robbed.

Follow Donovan X. Ramsey on Twitter at @idxr