Chicago Police are investigating the beating of a 50-year-old man that was caught on video Wednesday afternoon in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, while bystanders taunted him, saying he had voted for Donald Trump.
Officers responded to a battery in the 1100 block of South Kedzie at 12:48 p.m., according to Chicago Police.
The victim told police he was beaten up after a traffic-related argument with three males and two females, police said. One of the male suspects got in the man’s car and left the scene.
The victim was taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
At least three males can be seen in the YouTube video repeatedly punching and kicking a man in a blue sweatshirt. In the background, a man and woman can be heard yelling.
“You voted Trump?” they ask, laughing. Then: “Don’t vote Trump!”
Despite those taunts, and the YouTube video headline calling the victim a “Trump voter,” the police did not say how the victim actually voted in the presidential election.
After the video was posted, it got the attention of the Rev. Michael Pfleger.
“This is Unacceptable and must be condemned by Everybody…..VIOLENCE is NEVER an acceptable response!” Pfleger, the St. Sabina parish priest well known for his activism, posted on Facebook.
“Emotions are raw coming out of this election but frustration, anger and despair do not give permission to be violent……..Let us not surrender to evil, rather rise above it!!!!!”
Anyone with information is asked to call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.
