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Activists calling on State Attorney's Office to charge accused BP attacker with hate crime

After a Black woman was attacked at a BP gas station in Jacksonville, activists want her accused attacker charged with committing hate crime.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — "How would you feel if this was you?" That's a question activists are asking after a video went viral showcasing a man beating on a 23-year-old Black woman. 

The victim believes she was attacked based on her race. The viral video caught the attention of 22-year-old Diamond Wallace. After watching it, Wallace said her heart dropped. 

"This could've been your sister, this could've been your mother, this could've happened to anybody," Wallace said.

She wants to ask the attacker: "What made you that angry that you attack this young lady?" 

Rayme McCoy, the victim in the viral video, told First Coast News Kevin Williamson was the man who assaulted her. 

Williamson was arrested Friday on battery charges and appeared in front of a judge on Saturday. He requested his bond be "reduced to nothing," but it was not granted. 

"I'm not a flight risk," Williamson told the judge.

At last check, Williamson is out on bond.

Local activist Ben Frazier believes he should not have been able to bond out.  Frazier, with the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville Incorporated, described Williamson as a "threat to public safety." He's calling on the state attorney's office to charge Williamson with a hate crime. 

"We know it's a hate crime, Black folks know its a hate crime, white folks know it's a hate crime," Frazier said, who is also speaking on the behalf of the victim's family. 

While there are demands for justice, Diamond Wallace said there is a lesson to be learned. 

"Until there's accountability and people taking full blame saying 'Hey, I know this happened. What can we do to help? What can we do to move forward?' There will really be no change in the city," Wallace said.

    

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