The State of Wisconsin including Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee don't consider physically and verbally assaulting and engaging in jokes gone bad against street cart vendors, corn cart vendors and food truck vendors a hate crime.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
May 10, 2024
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - With the Trump MAGA Cult (RNC 2024) National Convention scheduled for July 15-18, 2024 in the City of Milwaukee, which thousands of extreme far right MAGAs (Make Amerikkka Great Again) cult Trump supporters and supremacists expected to arrive in the City, tensions will definitely flare because their known political objective including Trump is to promote anti-immigrant sentiment and hate rhetoric targeted at people of color, especially Latinos and the undocumented taxpaying worker. In order to disrupt the economic base, create division and hate among vibrant diverse communities.
Last weekend on Sunday, during the Cinco de Mayo 2024 (May 5th) impromptu flag waving parading and cruising celebrations at Mitchell Park, Ricardo Mondragon-Martinez, 39, a Paletería Yayo street cart vendor was targeted by Aaron Thompson III, 26, who is Afro-American and other individuals while the incident was video recorded and it went viral in social media.
The video that appeared in social media (FB) shows, Thompson taking Mondragon-Martinez's popsicle street cart without permission, tipped it over and then ran away while laughing as others in the immediate area also laughed.
Thompson made a public apology the next day, which was facilitated by the Wisconsin Brown Berets, after a reward of $500 leading to the identity of the Black individual that aggressively assaulted a paletero was offered by a Milwaukee Latino couple, Rafael and Adriana Bungee Hernández. It didn't take long to identify Thompson.
On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MJS) reported that Thompson had allegedly stated that Mondragon-Martinez, the Yayo paletero didn't want to sell him a popsicle, and a language barrier might have triggered the paletero assault incident. Thompson told the MJS that what he did was "a joke gone bad", but that he later apologized to Mondragon-Martinez and gave him $60.
If a reward wouldn't have been offered by the Hernández couple to identity Thompson, he might have gotten away with it.
The video of the incident posted on Facebook (FB) definitely shows that Thompson allegedly committed a criminal act against Mondragon-Martinez at a Milwaukee County Park, but Thompson's mere explanation that it was just a joke gone bad has many of his supporters saying that it was just a joke, in an attempt that Thompson doesn't get charged with a crime for his aggressive assault against Mondragon-Martinez.
Thompson's act is just one of many that street cart vendors endure around the the U.S. and in Milwaukee. According to Rene Adan, the owner of Paletería Yayo, LLC in Milwaukee, his employees experience aggressive attacks, being robbed and beaten at least once a week, but in Mondragon-Martinez's case, it's the first time it was video recorded and it went viral bringing attention that something needs to be done to protect street cart vendors including corn street vendors and taco food truck vendors.
According to sources that want to remain anonymous, Mondragon-Martinez reported several weeks ago that he was assaulted and robbed. Once it can be confirmed, HNNUSA will make it public.
In Wisconsin, Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee, there is no current law making it a hate crime to aggressively attack, physically and verbally assault and engaging in jokes gone bad against street cart vendors, corn vendors and taco food truck vendors. It's time to enact a hate crime law to protect hard working street cart vendors and others!
Justice for Ricardo Article at link: https://shorturl.at/jzKPZ
Editor's note:
What if Aaron Thompson III did the same act "joke gone bad" at a Milwaukee County Park to a White man, woman or kid? Most likely, he would be in jail facing criminal charges. We can't ignore that in Milwaukee County there are three types of systems of justice that is practiced between Whites, cops and people of color.
Source: Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA)
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