Racially motivated beating in western Pennsylvania: Will DOJ act?

A Pittsburgh Tribune-Review story “Beating victim says assault by Cal U football players was racial” covers a racially motivated attack in California, Pennsylvania.  California is a college town not far from Pittsburgh.  The victim told police that he heard two attackers say they were going to attack the first person they saw of the victim’s race.  The two attackers then attacked and “‘continued kicking the victim with his boots’ as he lay on the ground, a police report said.”  The two attackers were star football players, so the beating was probably most effective.  Racially motivated attacks are something the United States Department of Justice has federal criminal jurisdiction to prosecute.  In fact, they have indicted attackers in strangely similar circumstances.  In case the DOJ Civil Rights Division criminal section wants to investigate the matter, they can contact the California police at (724) 938-3233.  Hopefully the race of the victims and the race of the perpetrators won’t slow DOJ down.

“Police Officer Timothy Sheehan said Chambers was leaving the restaurant when Harding walked over and punched him in the face. Chambers, who alleges the assault was unprovoked, told police he does not know either man. . . .  Whiteleather and Harding are black; Chambers is white.  Just before the assault, Chambers told police he heard Harding tell Whiteleather that he was going to hit the first white person he saw.”