WEST ALLIS (Wis.) — A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty to intimidating and interfering in the lives of Black residents who had moved into an apartment complex in suburban Milwaukee.
William McDonald of West Allis could spend up to 11 years prison after he is sentenced by Gregory Haanstad, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
According to court documents, McDonald’s admitted that he had smashed the windshield and tires of a car owned by a Black woman in March 2021. The vehicle was parked outside the apartment of the woman.
A note was left that threatened to slash the woman’s throat and demanded she leave West Allis.
Haanstad’s office stated that her tires were slashed one week later and that another note was left with racial slurs, threats, and a threat to move out of the area.
A year later, racist graffiti had been placed on the door of an apartment where another Black woman lived with her two children. The note called the family a racial slur, and demanded they leave.
Haanstad stated in a release that “the conduct in question in this case strikes at at the very heart of the civil rights guaranteed every American citizen under Federal law.” “I salute the courage shown by those who were targeted by Mr. McDonald’s for speaking out.”
