Tomi Lahren took to Twitter on Thursday morning to call for President Obama to hold a press conference to condemn the tormenting and alleged kidnapping of a special needs man in a video posted on social media.
Update: Obama said in a Thursday interview with Chicago’s WBBM that the attack on the special needs man was a “despicable sort” of hate crime.
Lahren recalled the deaths Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, who were killed by police officers and became the subjects of national outrage. Obama famously said, “You know, if I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
This innocent kid didn't resist arrest, rob a convenience store, assault an officer or do anything wrong. Attacked for FUN for being white.
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) January 5, 2017
Still waiting for President Obama to hold a press conference and remind us "if he had a son…."
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) January 5, 2017
Lahren’s comments about the “innocent kid” not resisting arrest or robbing a store are a reference to Michael Brown, whose death sparked protests and riots in Ferguson, Missouri. TheBlaze host apparently feels the Chicago kidnapping story would be a bigger deal if the victim weren’t white.
On Wednesday, Chicago Police arrested four people accused of tormenting a man with special needs, which appeared in a video posted on social media. In the video at least one of the assailants says “f— white people” and tells the victim to say “f— Donald Trump.”
In the video, the assailants are shown yelling at the bound and gagged man, and cutting his shirt open. Police said the victim, from a Chicago suburb, knew at least one of his assailants from school, and may have gone with him voluntarily to the location where he was tortured. Police located the suspects after finding the victim, who was badly distressed after the attack, they said.
Lahren also retweeted a message saying, “Interesting how the @nytimes still has no story on the Chicago hate crime. Reverse the races you think that’s the case?”
Many other mainstream media outlets covered the story, including CNN, The Huffington Post and ABC News.