‘I Thought I Was Going To Die:’ Black Teacher Describes Racist Attack By Boston White Supremacist Group

Source: Boston Globe / Getty

Charles Murrell III, a Black teacher from Boston, alleges he was brutally assaulted by a white nationalist group in 2022 and is now seeking an undisclosed amount in a federal court case against his assailants.

On Oct. 2, during his testimony at the case presided over by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, Murrell alleged that he was punched, kicked, and beaten by Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau and members of the white supremacist group. The educator and saxophonist claimed that Rousseau and the group used metal shields during the assault on July 2, 2022. Murrell stated he was playing saxophone near the Boston Public Library when the hate group attacked him.

“I thought I was going to die,” Murrell told the Boston Globe during an interview.  

Self-identifying as “American nationalists,” Patriot Front members rationalize their hatred and intolerance by asserting the need to preserve America’s identity as a “Pan-European nation,” according to the ADL. Since 2019, the group has emerged as a prominent source of white supremacist propaganda in the United States, employing flyers, posters, stickers, banners, and digital platforms to spread their extremist views.

Formed in 2017 after breaking away from the openly antisemitic and neo-Nazi Vanguard America, Patriot Front has transitioned from explicitly antisemitic and traditional white supremacist language to an aesthetic embodying so-called “Patriot Nationalism” marked by red, white, and blue imagery. Members of the group maintain that their ancestors conquered America and believe the nation rightfully belongs to them alone. The group gained notoriety in 2017 when Rousseau led several dozen individuals affiliated with Vanguard America to the violent “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The group allegedly called Murrell a “tar baby” before the attack.

During Murrell’s assault in 2022, a witness who testified at the hearing recounted how the group was “ganging up” on Murrell, aggressively pushing him with their shields during the “racially motivated attack.” Before the incident, the group was walking in the area, marching while they held a banner that allegedly read, “Reclaim America.” Murrell described attempting to record the group with his cellphone but felt so anxious and “fidgety” that he couldn’t unlock the device. When they began to approach him, he recalled that the group taunted him with the term “tar baby” and chanted other phrases he didn’t comprehend, but their tone made it clear that he was likely in danger.

According to the Boston Globe, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani found the group and Rousseau, from Grapevine, Texas, liable for the attack after Rousseau failed to respond to a civil lawsuit filed by Murrell. Judge Talwani is expected to issue a ruling following the hearing with testimony from Murrell and several other witnesses soon.

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