EMBED More News Videos The family of the special needs man brutally tortured by four people while they streamed it live on Facebook spoke out for the first time Thursday. 
 
 EMBED More News Videos Four people are facing hate crime, kidnapping and other charges in connection with the brutal torture of an 18-year-old man with special needs that was streamed live on Facebook. 
 
 Four people were charged Thursday in connection with the brutal torture of an 18-year-old man with special needs that was streamed live on Facebook Jordan Hill, 18, of Carpentersville; Tesfaye Cooper, 18, of Chicago; Brittany Covington, 18, of Chicago; and Tanishia Covington, 24, of Chicago; were each charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the Cook County state's attorney. Hill, Cooper and Brittany Covington were charged with residential burglary. Hill was also charged with robbery and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Chicago police detectives laid out the timeline of events that led up to a man being tied up, kicked, beaten, yelled at, slashed and forced to drink toilet water - all of which was streamed live on Facebook.Police said they don't know the motive behind the apparent torture or the suspects' decision to stream it. At one point, the teens, who are black, told the victim, who is white, to say he loves black people.The suspects also made a string of profane statements about President-elect Donald Trump. At one point, a suspect is heard telling the victim to, "Say f*** Trump b****. F*** Trump. Say F*** Trump."Police said they investigated the attack as a hate crime and the state's attorney agreed it met those standards by approving the charges."Let me be very clear, the actions in that video are reprehensible. That alone with racism have absolutely no place in the city of Chicago or anywhere else for that matter," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said.The victim, who is from northwest suburban Crystal Lake, was reported missing from nearby Streamwood by his parents on Monday. Police said they had not heard from him since Saturday, when they dropped him off at the McDonald's near Schaumburg and Barrington roads to meet up for a sleepover with Hill. Police said the two were "acquaintances" who met at a school in Aurora.Unbeknownst to the victim, investigators said Hill had stolen a van prior to picking him up at McDonald's. Investigators said the pair then drove around for the next two days, visiting friends and sleeping in the van. It wasn't until Tuesday that police said Hill brought the victim to an apartment in the 3400-block of West Lexington Avenue in the Homan Square neighborhood on Chicago's West Side.Investigators said the victim told them he got into a "play fight" with Hill that escalated when two of Hill's acquaintances, the Covington sisters, became aggravated with him."That's when they tie him up and when the racial slurs and, you know, the deference to his mental capacity starts coming out. That's primarily one of the reasons they were charged with the hate crime," said Cmdr. Kevin Duffin, Chicago Police Dept.Police said the victim was left tied up in the corner for four to five hours. Streamwood police said the victim's parents received text messages from people who claimed to be holding him captive.When a downstairs neighbor complained about the noise and threatened to call 911, police said the Covington sisters kicked in her door and stole something. That prompted the neighbor to call police and gave the victim the opportunity to escape, investigators said.Police said an officer came upon the victim wandering on Lexington on Tuesday evening wearing a tank top inside out and backwards, jean shorts and sandals. He was observed by an officer to be confused and bleeding, who later learned he had been reported missing two days earlier in Streamwood."He was bloodied and battered and due to the cold weather conditions, I approached him for a field interview," said Officer Michael Donnelly, Chicago Police Dept. "He was discombobulated, he was injured, he was confused."Investigators said they do not believe the attack was premeditated, but may have escalated under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Police said they decided to pursue hate crime charges considering the "totality" of the victim's diminished mental capacity, the fact that he was bound, and racist statements made on the video.Police said the victim is now at home in Crystal Lake and is expected to make a full recovery. His family said they had all seen the video in a brief press conference Thursday evening."We're so grateful for all the prayers and efforts that led to the safe return of our brother. We're fully aware of the charges being brought against the offenders. At this time, we ask for continued prayers for all those involved, for our family's privacy as we cope and heal," said David Boyd, the victim's brother-in-law.When asked about the victim's condition, Boyd said: "He's doing as well as he can be at this time."A group of West Side ministers spoke out Thursday to condemn the brutal attack. They said they were called to act after hearing from their congregations. They said they will pray for and donate to assist the victim."This is not who the West Side is. This is not a representation of the African American race in Chicago at all," said Rev. Ira Acree, Greater St. John Bible Church."Sin is a reproach to any people. But we also condemn the use of social media to highlight this," said Rev. Walter Arthur McCray, National Black Evangelical Association.In an interview with ABC7's Judy Hsu , President Barack Obama addressed the attack, calling it "horrific" and "terrible.""Part of what technology allows us to see now is the terrible toll that racism and discrimination and hate takes on families and communities. But that's part of how we learn and how we get better. We don't benefit from pretending that racism doesn't exist and hate doesn't exist. We don't benefit form not talking about it. The fact that these things are being surfaced means we can solve them," Obama said.A Facebook spokesperson released this statement Thursday: "We do not allow people to celebrate or glorify crimes on Facebook and have removed the original video for this reason. In many instances, though, when people share this type of content, they are doing so to condemn violence or raise awareness about it. In that case, the video would be allowed."Facebook's community standards with regard to Facebook Live state, "We understand the unique challenges of live video. We know it's important to have a responsible approach. That's why we make it easy for people to report live videos to us as they're happening. We have a team on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, dedicated to responding to these reports immediately."All four suspects will appear in bond court around 1:30 p.m. Friday. The victim's family said they have not yet decided if they will attend. For now, they said they're focused on "trying to stick together as a family." ||||| Hate crime and kidnapping charges were filed Thursday against four people who Chicago police say bound, gagged and beat a teenager with special needs while broadcasting the attack on social media. Trina Orlando reports. (Published Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017) 
 
 Hate crime and kidnapping charges were filed Thursday against four people who Chicago police say bound, gagged and beat a teenager with special needs while broadcasting the attack on social media. 
 
 The brutal attack, which had political and racial connotations — the victim is white, and the suspects are black — sent shockwaves across the nation, and was even addressed at the White House press briefing Thursday. 
 
 "The actions in that video are reprehensible. That along with racism have absolutely no place in the city of Chicago or anywhere else for that matter against anyone regardless of their race, gender, state of mental health or any other identifying factor," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said at a news conference Thursday. 
 
 Thirty minutes of the torturous attack were streamed live on Facebook, but authorities said it was a six-hour ordeal that evolved out of a play fight, with the victim beaten, kicked, cut and forced to drink from a toilet. 
 
 The victim, who is not being identified, is an 18-year-old with "mental health challenges" from Crystal Lake. 
 
 Jordan Hill, 18, of Carpentersville; Tesfaye Cooper, 18, of Chicago; Brittany Covington, 18, of Chicago and Tanishia Covington, 24, of Chicago, were each charged with aggravated kidnapping, hate crime, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Hill, Cooper and Brittany Covington also face charges of residential burglary. Hill was also charged with robbery and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. 
 
 They are expected to appear in court Friday afternoon; it is not clear if they have attorneys. 
 
 The two men and two women were taken into custody Wednesday after being seen violently beating a teenager on Facebook Live. The suspects are black and the victim is white, and one of the suspects suspects allegedly yelled profanities about white people and President-elect Donald Trump during the live video. Police had earlier said they do not "have anything concrete" to suggest the attack was politically motivated, however. 
 
 A second potential video in the attack is being looked into by police, showing the group forcing the teen to drink toilet water. 
 
 “It’s just sickening, sickening,” Johnson said Wednesday in reaction to the video. "It makes you wonder what would make individuals treat somebody like that." 
 
 Speaking at a news conference Thursday evening, the victim's brother-in-law said the teen is doing "as well as he could be" and asked for "continued prayers for all those involved and for our family’s privacy as we cope and heal." 
 
 From left to right: Tanishia Covington, Brittany Covington, Jordan Hill, Tesfaye Cooper 
 
 Photo credit: CPD 
 
 A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the site removed the original video, saying in a statement, "We do not allow people to celebrate or glorify crimes on Facebook." 
 
 "In many instances, though, when people share this type of content, they are doing so to condemn violence or raise awareness about it. In that case, the video would be allowed," the statement read. 
 
 Authorities believe the teenager knew Hill from school and went with him willingly on New Year's Eve after meeting at a suburban McDonald's. They allege Hill stole a van and picked the victim up from the Streamwood restaurant, ultimately bringing him to the city, 50 miles from his home, police said. 
 
 The victim's parents knew the teen would be spending the night with a friend, but reported him missing the next day, police said. 
 
 It wasn't until Tuesday police said the attack happened and the teen was able to escape before police found him in the 3400 block of West Lexington "bloodied," "battered," and "discombobulated." 
 
 He then led the police back to the nearby home where he was tortured. 
 
 "I just can't believe anybody would do that to someone, especially a special needs child," the victim's grandmother told NBC. 
 
 Streamwood authorities also say the suspects had been sending the victim’s parents text messages while holding him hostage. 
 
 "This is going to affect him for probably the rest of his life," the teen's grandmother said.
– The 18-year-old victim of a brutal beating broadcast on Facebook Live thought he was going to a sleepover. That's what his parents thought, too, when they dropped him off at a McDonald's in the Chicago suburbs on New Year's Eve to meet up with 18-year-old Jordan Hill, who had been a classmate. The victim and Hill drove around together (in what police say was a van stolen by Hill) visiting friends for two days, with the victim sleeping in the van. On Tuesday, they ended up at a Chicago apartment where sisters Brittany and Tanishia Covington, ages 18 and 24, lived. What would ultimately turn into the shocking beating, broadcast live for 28 minutes and viewed millions of times on social media, started as a "play fight" between the victim and Hill, the Chicago Tribune reports. It escalated, and police say the Covington sisters got angry and tied the victim up. A downstairs neighbor heard noises and threatened to call police; two of the suspects left to allegedly kick down that neighbor's door, allowing the victim to escape, the AP reports. Hill, the Covington sisters, and 18-year-old Tesfaye Cooper were all charged with a hate crime due to racial slurs and comments about the victim's disability they were allegedly heard making on the video. A family spokesperson says the victim has had "profound emotional and physical disabilities throughout his life," and the missing persons report notes that he "does not like telling his parents who he's with" (his mother knew only Jordan Hill's first name, not his last). The suspects, who also face kidnapping, battery, and other charges, are in court Friday.