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A Black man says he was attacked by a white nationalist hate group as they marched through downtown Boston in 2022.
On Thursday (October 10), Charles Murrell III appeared in federal court to testify in his lawsuit against the white supremacist group Patriot Front and its leader, Thomas Rousseau in connection to the alleged attack.
“I thought I was going to die,” Murrell said, per the Boston Globe.
On July 2, 2022, Murrell was near the Boston Public Library when he was approached by members of the Patriot Front and assaulted in a “coordinated, brutal, and racially motivated attack,” according to his lawsuit.
The group allegedly punched, kicked, and beat Murrell with metal shields. Murrell was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for lacerations, some of which required stitches, the suit states. No one has been charged in connection to the incident.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani found the Patriot Front and Rousseau liable for the attack after the group's leader declined to respond to a civil lawsuit Murrell filed.
Attorney Jason Lee Van Dyke, who previously represented the group, denied the allegations last year, saying that Murrell was the aggressor.
A witness who testified at Thursday's hearing recalled the group "ganging up" on Murrell and “pushing him violently with their shields.”
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