President Obama Weighs In On Torturous Facebook Live Video
A disturbing video of four Chicago teens assaulting a subdued mentally disabled 18-year-old surfaced on the web earlier this week, leading authorities to act swiftly in apprehending the suspects. Now, the news of the Facebook Live video has made its way to President Barack Obama.
In an interview with CBS Chicago, the commander-in-chief referred to the video as “despicable,” but continued to state that despite the difference in ethnicity between the suspects and the victim, he doesn’t view this crime as an example of strained race relations in America.
“I don’t think it’s accurate to say race relations have gotten worse,” he said. “…In part because we see visuals of racial tensions, violence, and so forth; because of smart phones and the Internet and the media. What we’ve seen as surfacing, I think, are a lot of the problems that have been there a long time.”
Obama also said these instances shouldn’t be taken lightly. “Whether it’s tensions between police and communities, hate crimes of the despicable sort that has just now recently surfaced on Facebook — I take these things very seriously.”
READ: President Obama Outlines His Legacy And Regrets In Final Letter As President
The suspects were charged with felony aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and hate crimes.
