‘F— That N—a!: Video Shows White Teens Push Black Boy Into Farm Equipment in Brutal Attack But Sheriff Claims It Wasn’t Racially Motivated
The family of a Black boy who was beaten by a group of young white teenagers in a barn has retained legal representation to demand a hate crime investigation into the attack.
The video shows several white teens grabbing a 14-year-old boy and pushing him against farm equipment in a barn before beating him and slamming him on the ground.
One person behind the camera is heard saying, “F*** that n****a.” Another person is also heard saying the word “n****r” as the fight ensues.
The incident took place at an underage drinking party in a barn in the rural town of Pulaski, Wisconsin, on Aug. 17.
Cellphone footage of the attack went viral and sparked outrage on social media and demands for accountability.
After local authorities interviewed the victim and gathered witness accounts, they determined the attack was not racially motivated but was triggered by an alleged ongoing dispute between the victim and his assailants connected to prior allegations of assault, attempted theft, and threats.
However, the attorney for the victim’s family disputed the conclusion that the attack wasn’t motivated by race.
“When a Black teenager is targeted, beaten, and subjected to racial epithets — that is a hate crime,” civil rights attorney B’Ivory LaMarr told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “This case is about accountability, protecting children, and ensuring equal protection under the law. Anything less sends the wrong message to victims and emboldens perpetrators of hate.”
Iowa County Sheriff Michael Peterson said that law enforcement was called to the scene over a report of a structure fire, but they arrived to find an underage drinking party. Most of the partygoers cleared out by the time officers got there.
Peterson said that the party was the third underage drinking gathering police had been called to in recent weeks, and all the parties were the sites of physical altercations. Yet, no one came forward with any witness accounts about the altercations until after the Aug. 17 party.
The victim of the Aug. 17 attack told police that someone attempted to “jump” him at the party and that his attackers mistook him for someone else they had a prior “beef” with.
One Black male witness wrote a statement to the sheriff’s office saying he helped break up the fight and that he never heard any non-Black people at the party use the N-word. Multiple Black people were at the scene, including the person recording the video.
The witness said the fight stemmed from previous confrontations with the 14-year-old victim. The victim’s mother insists it was a case of mistaken identity and the attackers meant to target another Black teen, but the sheriff’s office determined that the 14-year-old was the intended target of the attack based on witness statements.
“The Sheriff’s Office has pointed to claims about prior disputes and alleged behavior by the victim, but let’s be clear — even if those claims were true, they do not excuse the brutal assault that followed,” LaMarr said. “To minimize or dismiss the racial component in this case only deepens the harm and undermines public trust.”
Although no charges have been filed so far, Sheriff Peterson called the video “disturbing” and said that arrests are still possible. He said some of the attackers were minors and others were over the age of 18.
The District Attorney’s Office has not yet received a criminal referral from the sheriff’s office.
LaMarr plans to file a formal complaint with the state Department of Justice and request that the teens involved in the beating be charged with hate crimes.
The victim’s mother said that she and her son live an hour away from Pulaski and that the teen was invited to the party by some of his friends.
“It’s still hard for me to even watch the video. I can’t stomach it,” the victim’s mother said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.