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Three white men in South Africa have been charged after video surfaced of Black teenagers being attacked at a public pool.
In the video, which has garnered over 6 million views on social media, a group of white men appeared to hit, choke, and push the teenagers into a pool at the Maselspoort resort in the Free State province. The men were trying to prevent the teens from swimming because it was "reserved for white people."
According to the Associated Press, 47-year-old suspect Kobus Johannes Classen faces charges of attempted murder. Classen appeared in court on Thursday (December 29) and was released on a bail of 20,000 South African rand (about $1,180), with his next hearing set for January 25.
33-year-old Johan Nel and 47-year-old Jan Stephanus van der Westhuizen were charged with common assault and “crimen injuria” (“unlawfully and intentionally impairing the dignity or privacy of another person”), according to police, and also appeared in court.
The incident drew widespread criticism online, including from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“As Black and white South Africans, we should be united in condemning all manifestations of racism and attempts to explain or defend such crimes. Racism is not a problem to be fought by Black South Africans only,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
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