SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Mahud Villalaz of Milwaukee was allegedly attacked with battery acid by a man who told him to "go back to [his] country." Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett said Monday the President Donald Trump has incited this type of violence with his anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies. (Photo: AP/screenshot)
Milwaukee Mayor Blames Trump's Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric and Policies for Acid Attack Against Hispanic Resident
"Everybody knows what's happening. It's because the president is talking about it on a daily basis that people feel that they have license to go after Hispanic people, and it's wrong."
Nov 03, 2019
Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett said Monday that President Donald Trump is responsible for violent hate crimes like an acid attack which left a 42-year-old man with second-degree burns in the city on Friday.
Mahud Villaluz told CNN affiliate WISN that a man confronted him over a parking spot, called him "an illegal," and told him to "go back to [his] country" before throwing battery acid at him. The incident was caught on surveillance video and a 61-year-old man was arrested in connection with the crime on Monday.
"My concern is that more and more people feel that because the president is saying it that this is okay," Barrett told CNN. "It's not okay, it's horrible."
"Everybody knows what's happening," the mayor said of Trump's encouragement of anti-immigrant sentiment and even violence. "It's because the president is talking about it on a daily basis that people feel that they have license to go after Hispanic people, and it's wrong."
The attack on Villaluz comes six months after the president laughed at a rally in Panama City Beach, Florida after an attendee shouted that migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border should be shot.
"Only in the Panhandle you can get away with that statement," the president said at the rally.
Barrett added on Monday that the attack was "obviously" a hate crime. The city is investigating it as such, according to CNN.
Villaluz is a U.S. citizen who was born in Peru. He described the alleged attack in a press conference on Sunday.
"He started arguing, saying, 'Why you came here and invade my country? Why you came here illegally?'" he told reporters. "[I said], 'Sir, you don't know my status. I'm a U.S. citizen too. He got mad when I told him everybody came here from somewhere else."
Progressive PAC Latino Victory Fund expressed agreement with Barrett regarding Trump's influence on racist attacks.
"The rise of anti-Latino hate crimes during the Trump administration is directly related to Trump's extreme anti-Latino rhetoric and deeds," the group wrote on social media.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett said Monday that President Donald Trump is responsible for violent hate crimes like an acid attack which left a 42-year-old man with second-degree burns in the city on Friday.
Mahud Villaluz told CNN affiliate WISN that a man confronted him over a parking spot, called him "an illegal," and told him to "go back to [his] country" before throwing battery acid at him. The incident was caught on surveillance video and a 61-year-old man was arrested in connection with the crime on Monday.
"My concern is that more and more people feel that because the president is saying it that this is okay," Barrett told CNN. "It's not okay, it's horrible."
"Everybody knows what's happening," the mayor said of Trump's encouragement of anti-immigrant sentiment and even violence. "It's because the president is talking about it on a daily basis that people feel that they have license to go after Hispanic people, and it's wrong."
The attack on Villaluz comes six months after the president laughed at a rally in Panama City Beach, Florida after an attendee shouted that migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border should be shot.
"Only in the Panhandle you can get away with that statement," the president said at the rally.
Barrett added on Monday that the attack was "obviously" a hate crime. The city is investigating it as such, according to CNN.
Villaluz is a U.S. citizen who was born in Peru. He described the alleged attack in a press conference on Sunday.
"He started arguing, saying, 'Why you came here and invade my country? Why you came here illegally?'" he told reporters. "[I said], 'Sir, you don't know my status. I'm a U.S. citizen too. He got mad when I told him everybody came here from somewhere else."
Progressive PAC Latino Victory Fund expressed agreement with Barrett regarding Trump's influence on racist attacks.
"The rise of anti-Latino hate crimes during the Trump administration is directly related to Trump's extreme anti-Latino rhetoric and deeds," the group wrote on social media.
Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett said Monday that President Donald Trump is responsible for violent hate crimes like an acid attack which left a 42-year-old man with second-degree burns in the city on Friday.
Mahud Villaluz told CNN affiliate WISN that a man confronted him over a parking spot, called him "an illegal," and told him to "go back to [his] country" before throwing battery acid at him. The incident was caught on surveillance video and a 61-year-old man was arrested in connection with the crime on Monday.
"My concern is that more and more people feel that because the president is saying it that this is okay," Barrett told CNN. "It's not okay, it's horrible."
"Everybody knows what's happening," the mayor said of Trump's encouragement of anti-immigrant sentiment and even violence. "It's because the president is talking about it on a daily basis that people feel that they have license to go after Hispanic people, and it's wrong."
The attack on Villaluz comes six months after the president laughed at a rally in Panama City Beach, Florida after an attendee shouted that migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border should be shot.
"Only in the Panhandle you can get away with that statement," the president said at the rally.
Barrett added on Monday that the attack was "obviously" a hate crime. The city is investigating it as such, according to CNN.
Villaluz is a U.S. citizen who was born in Peru. He described the alleged attack in a press conference on Sunday.
"He started arguing, saying, 'Why you came here and invade my country? Why you came here illegally?'" he told reporters. "[I said], 'Sir, you don't know my status. I'm a U.S. citizen too. He got mad when I told him everybody came here from somewhere else."
Progressive PAC Latino Victory Fund expressed agreement with Barrett regarding Trump's influence on racist attacks.
"The rise of anti-Latino hate crimes during the Trump administration is directly related to Trump's extreme anti-Latino rhetoric and deeds," the group wrote on social media.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.