A Georgia man and woman who crashed a child’s birthday party and threatened to kill party-goers will were sentenced today to serve stiff sentences for their participation and actions.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Superior Court Judge William McClain called it a hate crime. Kayla Rae Norton, 25, and Jose Ismael Torres, 26, along with a group of similar-minded people, drove by a child’s outdoor birthday party in Douglasville, Georgia, in July 2015, intent on disturbing the guests. The pair hurled racist insults at a crowd celebrating a black child’s birthday. They also pulled out a gun and pointed it at the party guests, including young children, while threatening to kill them.
The defendants openly wept in court when the judge handed down a 20-year prison sentence to Torres and a 15-year prison sentence to Norton. Judge McClain said that the defendants acted with hatred while fully knowing that just a month prior, white supremacist Dylann Roof killed numerous black churchgoers in South Carolina.
“Their actions were motivated by racial hatred,” said McClain.
[Feature Photo: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office]
