McDonald was taken into custody this week after feds filed charges against him for engaging in criminal acts since March 2021 targeting Black and Hispanic victims, which he intentionally sought to intimidate and interfere with their housing rights.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
April 22, 2022
West Allis, Wisconsin - On Tuesday, a federal criminal indictment was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which charged William A. McDonald, 54, of West Allis, with willfully using force and threatening to use force to injure, intimidate and interfere with the housing rights of multiple Blacks and a Hispanic because of their race, color or national origin. The federal criminal acts committed by McDonald began around March 17, 2021 to April 19, 2022 and included property damage and threats of bodily harm that were intentionally targeted at 8 African-American residents including one child (Blacks), also a resident of Puerto Rican descent in several locations in West Allis at the 1400 block of S. 79 Street and 8700 block of W. Mitchell Street (both apartment buildings), which McDonald's intent was to force them to move out of West Allis keeping the area (neighborhood) predominantly White. He even left unsigned notes with the "N" word including racially motivated hate language on several vehicles belonging to the victims and punctured (slashed) their tires with a knife or sharp object.
As a result, 4 Black victims moved out of the apartment building that was targeted by McDonald due to safety concerns, hate notes and vandalism.
When the FBI arrested McDonald on Tuesday, they found a similar hate "N" (referring to the victims as niggers) note inside a sandwich plastic bag with his handwriting in his vehicle. The note was written on a stationery paper from a restaurant chain he had worked at in 2019 that prohibited used of the stationery other than for business related purposes.
The FBI also learned that McDonald had called West Allis police to report individuals speeding in his neighborhood that was matched with the same days that the hate "N" notes were placed on victim vehicles.
The feds executed a search warrant of his apartment and found 3 jars of marijuana and a scale, they also recovered a baseball bat from his vehicle.
The indictment didn't specify, if McDonald will also be charged with a hate crime.
If convicted, McDonald is facing up to 10 ten years in a federal prison and up to $100,000 in fines.
This case was investigated by the FBI Milwaukee Field Division and the West Allis Police Department.
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