Two Delaware women accused of accosting a 7-year-old boy outside of the Democratic National Convention and taking his MAGA hat are facing up to 15 years in prison for a hate crime.
Outside the DNC Convention tonight, radical leftists attacked a 7 year old boy.
Why?
Because he was simply showing his support for President @realDonaldTrump.
Truly shameful.pic.twitter.com/rBFzlg2WFu
— Students For Trump (@TrumpStudents) August 21, 2020
Yes, it was “shameful.” It was also mean, stupid, small-minded, and wrong. But do the women really deserve to spend 15 years in prison for it?
“Violence in any form is unacceptable, but harming another person — let alone a child — because of the expression of their views betrays the principles on which our country was founded,” Jennings said in a statement to Fox News.
The two women were arrested in connection with a viral video that allegedly showed the suspects ripping up Trump signs and stealing a MAGA hat near the site of Democrat Joe Biden’s acceptance speech in August.
The video also shows a heated confrontation between the suspects and adults coming to the defense of a 7-year-old supporter of President Trump.
The list of charges is surprisingly long.
Olivia Winslow and Camryn Amy, both 21 and from Wilmington, were indicted by a New Castle County grand jury on Tuesday on charges of second-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy, endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree assault, attempted third-degree assault, offensive touching and felony hate crimes.
That confrontation resulted in one of the women hitting an adult male in the face after he had come to the defense of the child. But a “hate crime”?
Delaware law states that a person is guilty of such when they commit a “crime for the purpose of interfering with the victim’s free exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege or immunity protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, or commits said crime because the victim has exercised or enjoyed said rights.”
There is no doubt that the women’s behavior toward the child was despicable. But whatever happened to the concept that the punishment should fit the crime? Charging someone with a hate crime because they were mean and nasty to a child is disproportionate to the criminal act. The women could get up to 15 years in prison for trying to prevent a young boy from showing his support for Donald Trump and getting into an argument with Trump supporters. Is that really fair?
Punishing someone for what they believe — even if they’re wrong-headed, hateful, irrational, and illogical — is excessive. There are plenty of laws in place that can give the young boy justice without throwing people in jail for 15 years because they stole a hat. Designating the criminal act as a “hate crime” is overkill.
“Hate crimes” are a political construct — a sop to groups that are sometimes criminally targeted for their race, sex, sexual orientation, or how they look. According to Delaware law, it appears it would be a “hate crime” if someone tried to shout you down at a rally.
Try shouting louder. And leave “hate crimes” out of it.
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