4 charged in Chicago videotaped beating

CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors have filed hate crime and aggravated kidnapping charges against four black suspects accused of beating and taunting a white man during an attack streamed live on Facebook

Cook County prosecutors on Thursday announced charges against three 18-year-olds — Jordan Hill of Carpentersville, Brittany Covington of Chicago and Tesfaye Cooper of Chicago — and 24-year-old Tanishia Covington of Chicago.

Prosecutors say the four are also charged with aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Three have also been charged with residential burglary.

The charges stem from an incident that went on for as many as 48 hours. Police have said the victim has “mental health challenges.”

Meanwhile, the grandmother of one of the young women – Brittany Covington – associated with the beating says her granddaughter “had her ups and downs,” but is “a good person.”

Priscilla Covington of Chicago says she raised the young woman “since she was a baby.” She says her granddaughter no longer lives at the family home but still lives in Chicago.

The grandmother says the video doesn’t reflect the young woman she raised.

She says she’s worried because her family, including the woman’s younger sisters, have been threatened since the video was posted online.

She says she saw and talked to her granddaughter about four days ago, and “she was OK.”