© Carlos Barria / Reuters
President Obama has condemned the “despicable” Chicago torture attack this week in which four young black people were shown in a Facebook Live video torturing a mentally disabled white man and yelling obscenities about race and Donald Trump. “I take these things very seriously,” he said. “The good news is that the next generation that’s coming behind us... have smarter, better, more thoughtful attitudes about race.” Obama expressed alarm about the footage, which was broadcast on Facebook Live, calling it a “horrific hate crime.” The two men and two women allegedly involved in the attack were all charged Thursday. Jordan Hill, 18; Tesfaye Cooper, 18; Brittany Covington, 18; and Tanishia Covington, 24, all face charges of aggravated kidnapping, hate crimes, aggravated unlawful restraint, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Police said all four have admitted to their roles in the incident. They reportedly met the victim, a school classmate, at a McDonald’s and hung out with him over two days before purportedly launching their six-hour attack on him. The victim’s brother-in-law told reporters in a late Thursday news conference that the 18-year-old is grateful for all the public support. “He’s doing well, as well as he could be at this time,” he said.