Miami prosecutor probing MLK traffic incident as hate crime

Source: Associated Press

Curt Anderson, Ap Legal Affairs Writer
Updated 2:19 pm CST, Tuesday, January 22, 2019

MIAMI (AP) -- A traffic incident in Miami involving a gun-wielding white man and a group of black bicyclists protesting housing inequality on Martin Luther King Day is being investigated as a possible hate crime, prosecutors said Tuesday.

State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a news release that she has ordered her hate crimes chief to look into Monday's confrontation in the upscale Brickell section of Miami. The man with the gun, 51-year-old Mark Bartlett, has so far been charged only with illegally carrying a concealed weapon, which is a felony.

Video shot by bystanders and aired by numerous news outlets shows Bartlett swearing and hurling racial insults at the group of black cyclists, while keeping the gun at his side. A Miami police report says the cyclists blocked part of a major street to protest plans for a private development to displace affordable housing in the financially struggling Liberty City neighborhood.

. . .

In Miami, the Martin Luther King holiday is traditionally a time for young African-American men to ride dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles and bicycles throughout the area in an anti-violence effort known as "Wheels Up, Guns Down," which takes its name from a Philadelphia protest over the death of a black biker several years ago.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Miami-prosecutor-probing-MLK-traffic-incident-as-13552349.php

---

State exploring hate crime after white man yells slurs, pulls gun on black Miami protestors
BY CHARLES RABIN AND

DAVID OVALLE

JANUARY 22, 2019 08:48 AM,

UPDATED 3 HOURS 30 MINUTES AGO



Mark Bartlett, 51, yelled racial slurs at protesters in Miami on Jan. 21, 2019. He was later arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon, according to jail records.
By Dream Defenders via Facebook

The case of a white man yelling racial slurs after pulling a gun on black teenage protesters will be investigated as a potential hate crime, Miami's top prosecutor said Tuesday.

Mark Bartlett was arrested Monday evening for carrying a concealed weapon after wielding a gun and screaming at several young men who participating in the "Bikes Up Guns Down" event in Miami's Brickell area. The confrontation was captured on video by a member of the grass-roots activist group Dream Defenders. The jarring footage, posted to social media, began to go viral late Monday.

The Hollywood resident could face upgraded charges, such as aggravated assault, that includes a "hate crime" enhancement that stiffens the sentence if convicted.

"I am outraged at the reported acts depicted in the videos taken during this incident. I have assigned my chief of our Hate Crimes Unit to immediately investigate and handle this case," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement on Tuesday. "My office is working closely with City of Miami Police on this matter. I am committed to filing the appropriate charges and to vigorously prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law."

More:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article224893600.html

~ ~ ~

Man arrested after video shows him holding gun while slinging racial slurs at black teens
Mark Bartlett, 51, faces charge of carrying concealed firearm
By Peter Burke - Local10.com Managing Editor, Madeleine Wright - Reporter
Posted: 8:01 AM, January 22, 2019
Updated: 1:50 PM, January 22, 2019



Man arrested after video shows him holding gun while slinging.


. . .

A video widely shared on social media shows the group of teens on bicycles arguing with a woman on the Brickell Avenue Bridge. The woman in the video claims one of the boys ran over her foot with his bike and a screaming match ensues.

"Don't touch me, you bunch of thugs," the woman tells the teens as she walks away from them.
The teens then shout obscenities at her.

Moments later, a man, identified by police as Bartlett, approaches the teens, holding a gun in his hand. He begins yelling obscenities and racial slurs at the teens, telling them to leave.

"F---ing stupid n-----s," Bartlett can be heard saying.

More:
https://www.local10.com/news/local/miami/man-arrested-after-video-shows-him-holding-gun-while-slinging-racial-slurs-at-black-teens