White Michigan Man Admits To Attacking Black Teen Because He Was Black

There it is.

Source: Bill Boch / Getty

Nothing that white folks do can surprise us at this point. Sadly, we’ve seen far too many blatant and unrepentant hate crimes in our day and the shock just isn’t there anymore. That said, we’re still going to put each and every one of them on blast for the crimes they commit.

According to NBC News, 43-year-old Lee James Mouat, a white man, pleaded guilty to beating a Black teenager named Devin Freelon Jr. with a bicycle lock specifically because he is Black. On June 6, 2020, Mouat accosted Devin and two of his friends in the parking lot of Sterling State Park to complain about their loud “ghetto” music. Mouat went on to call them “ni**ers”, yell “Black lives don’t matter!”, and told them that Black people do not belong at the park. He then retrieved an item described as a “metal chain-style bike lock” and proceed to beat Devin with it. The attack resulted in three of the teen’s teeth being knocked out as well as a fractured jaw, and multiple lacerations to his face and mouth.

Devin Freelon Sr. told NBC that it’s been difficult watching his son recover from the painful injuries.

“It’s definitely been hard seeing your son every day with missing teeth and only 19 years. Nobody should go through that,” he said.

Multiple witnesses at the park that day say that Mouat was shouting racist slurs and begging someone to say something to him so that he could attack them. He also threatened to bash the boys’ skulls if they didn’t turn the music down.

Mouat was arrested and indicted in February with willfully causing bodily injury to the victim because of the victim’s race, and attempting to cause bodily injury to the second teen. Under the agreement, Mouat pleaded guilty to the first charge.