Police raid Black family’s home for playing Malcolm X speeches after white neighbor calls recordings a hate crime
A North Carolina woman says police unfairly raided her home and seized her electronics after a white neighbor complained that she played her Malcolm X speeches too loud. --3 handwritten wills found in Aretha Franklin’s ...
A North Carolina woman says police unfairly raided her home and seized her electronics after a white neighbor complained that she played Malcolm X speeches too loud.
—3 handwritten wills found in Aretha Franklin’s home—
According to IndyWeek, Mikisa Thompson said Garner police officers converged on her home with search warrants on May 16, frightening both her and her children.
“There was no provocation or warning,” Thompson told the outlet. “They were watching the house all day. Garner PD wants to kill me.”
Thompson told the outlet that police took a laptop, a computer monitor and speakers, at least seven iPhones, a MacBook, an alarm clock and charging cables.
The woman was told that she had violated the noise ordinance in the city and was given a court summons after her neighbor Don Barnette made a complaint.
This was not the first time the next door neighbor made a complaint. In April he reportedly called 911 stating that Thompson played “loud Islamic-Muslim preaching” in her backyard. Officers that time, fined Thompson $50 and took her stereo.
The neighbor reportedly said he feels like he and his family are “victims of a hate crime” because Thompson played the Malcolm X speeches. Police claim the speakers were pointed at his home.
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An officer said he could hear the noise emanating from Thompson’s property line.
“Our officers did everything that they could at the time to try and bring a peaceful conclusion to this issue before seizing the speaker,” Garner police Cpt. Joe Binns told IndyWeek. “First, we warned Ms. Thompson and asked her to turn it down. When she refused and received a second complaint, we issued her a citation for violation of the ordinance.”
Thompson believes the incident is racially charged.
“The victim of a hate crime is picking up the phone on black people whose only crime that you can detect is that they are playing Islamic speeches,” she argued. “They are filled with hate because it’s a strong black voice and it’s Islamic preaching. All you know is it was loud, it was black, and it was somebody proud of being black, and you wanted to put it to an end.”
Thompson has been charged with a class 3 misdemeanor and faces a $500 fine.
