According to Boston Police, two brothers, 38-year-old Scott Leader and 30-year-old Steve Leader, took it upon themselves to beat up a 58-year-old homeless man because he was Mexican, citing presidential candidate Donald Trump as their inspiration. As they urinated on the poor man and beat him with a metal pipe, they said: “Donald Trump was right. All these illegals need to be deported.”
The brothers later reiterated their story to police, telling authorities that they beat the man up for being Hispanic and an illegal immigrant. Not that it makes a difference, but as it turns out, they would later find that the victim actually was a legal U.S. citizen.
Problematic does not begin to describe this situation. When asked about the incident during a press conference earlier this week shortly after the news broke, Trump had not yet heard about what happened and at the time said: “I will say, the people that are following me are very passionate. They love this country, they want this country to be great again.”
Not exactly the most compassionate or thought-out response to a homeless man getting beat with a metal pipe, so, today, Trump has changed his tune considerably. Friday afternoon, he wrote on his prolific Twitter account:
Boston incident is terrible. We need energy and passion, but we must treat each other with respect. I would never condone violence.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2015
If and how he’ll further spin this remains to be seen. “Donald Trump: The kind of presidential candidate who does not condone beating homeless men senseless with blunt instruments. The kind of man you can trust.”
For their part, the brothers are facing several assault and battery charges and gross lewdness. This is not their first brush with the law. Scott Leader was convicted of a hate crime and spent a year in jail after attacking a Moroccan man and calling him “terrorist” in a Boston Dunkin’ Donuts just after 9/11. Salt of the earth, that one is.
(Via CNN, Boston Globe)