JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The family and attorneys of a Black woman attacked at a BP gas station in Jacksonville held a press conference Wednesday to give an update on the woman's injuries from the attack and to call for more charges to be brought against the accused.
Rayme McCoy is the woman seen in a viral video being punched several times by a man at BP on University blvd North.
Kevin Williamson, 59, was arrested and charged with battery following the incident at a BP gas station. Williamson appeared in court. His bond was set at $20,000 on the condition that he does not return to the BP Gas Station at 3551 University Blvd. North where the incident occurred.
Williamson is currently out on bond. His next court date is June 10th.
McCoy and her attorneys say she has suffered a concussion and is seeking treatment for cognitive impairments stemming from the attack.
Attorney John Phillips, who is representing McCoy, says he believes her accused assailant has been undercharged, he wants to see those charges upgraded to aggravated battery, and for the state attorney's office to treat this incident as a racially motivated hate crime.
The legal team also points to Williamson's past proof he is a criminal offender.
Records show that Williamson is on the registry due to a sexual assault involving a minor in 1990. He failed to register in 2002 but does not appear to have failed to register since then. Williamson was previously charged in a battery with a deadly weapon case, but the charges were dropped.
"Kevin Troy Williamson tried to tell everybody he's a predator...When somebody tries to tell you who they are, police and prosecutors need to do a better job about listening," attorney John Phillips, who is representing McCoy, said.
At a press conference, McCoy's legal team along with activists from with the Northside Coalition say Williamson made racists statement during the attack that support their claims he was racially motivated.
"It was in fact, appalling, savage, barbaric, vicious, and brutal. Miss Rayme McCoy was singled out because of her race. But its impact is much broader than that. What happened at that BP service station amounted to an attack on the very heart, body, soul and consciousness of the greater Jacksonville community," Ben Frazier, founder of the Northside Coalition, said.
Phillips also called Williamson's claim that McCoy hit him first, a "false flag."
"His life and freedom are on the line. So I would expect him to say 'you know, let's run this stand your ground thing up the flagpole.' But it is a false flag," Phillips said.
McCoy’s family sat next to her, McCoy herself very emotional during the conference.
“As a woman, I am infuriated to know that a man would brutally attack a woman due to his own personal anger and rage. As a mother, you always want to make sure your children are safe. My heart aches knowing that I was unable to protect my daughter from this heinous crime. It disturbs me to know that my daughter now feels unsettled about entering a gas station alone. As a human, it saddens me that we still live in a world of racism and hate," Shefreea Williams, McCoy's mother, said.
McCoy and her legal team said they have been in contact with the state attorney's office, and plan to meet sometime on Tuesday.