A 26-year-old man believed to be a chapter leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist gang was on Monday arrested and charged after he was filmed sucker-punching a Black woman in the face and calling her the N-word.
According to HuffPost, the incident occurred outside a bar in Akron, Ohio in the wee hours of Sunday. The White suspect, identified as Andrew Walls, was in the company of other patrons at the time. The 23-year-old victim, Cameron Morgan, and a friend were walking past when they heard Walls and the people he was with yelling “F**king N***ers.”
Morgan later informed her father that she approached Walls after she became aware she was the only Black person there. “We were like … ‘You can’t say that. That’s not OK,’” she told her father, David Lee Morgan Jr.
In the video of the incident, a visibly intoxicated Walls is seen walking towards Morgan before he points his finger and says, “N***er b**ch, shut your mouth.” He then squares up and punches Morgan in the face after she walks up to him.
And though the video ended shortly after, Walls continued assaulting the Black woman. Her father told HuffPost that Walls grabbed his daughter’s hair and dragged her into the street. He said the incident left his daughter rattled, adding that she left the area without initially getting in touch with the police.
Please! I need to press charges! I’m heartbroken and sick to my stomach. pic.twitter.com/42nddAm5gh
— David Lee Morgan, Jr. (@DavidLeeMorgan) February 27, 2022
Activists who saw the video after it was shared on social media identified Walls as the attacker. An Akron Beacon Journal story that stated Walls is the vice president of the Akron-Canton chapter of the Proud Boys was also shared.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the Proud Boys as a hate group. Canada has also listed the group as a terrorist organization. “The Proud Boys’ actions belie their disavowals of bigotry: Rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists,” per SPLC. “They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric.” Group members are also known for their violent tendencies.
“Soon as we saw it, I was in tears,” Morgan’s father said about his reaction after he saw the video. “I just cried, because, I just watched somebody punch my daughter, who wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Morgan suffered a concussion and had to seek treatment at an urgent care clinic. Her father said the impact of the punch made her see stars and black out. Her face also got temporarily swollen, and that affected her ability to move her jaw.
“She couldn’t really open up her mouth to eat,” David Morgan told the news outlet.
Walls has since been charged with possessing a firearm while intoxicated and assault. The assault charge could, however, be upgraded to a felony. That depends on the extent of the injuries Morgan sustained, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Akron police are also looking at filing an additional ethnic intimidation charge. The department is also liaising with the FBI to determine if the attack can be labeled as a hate crime.
