Black woman gets probation for kidnapping white mentally ill man tortured on Facebook Live

After nearly a year in Cook County Jail in Illinois, 19-year-old Brittany Covington was freed on four years of probation after a plea deal was reached Friday. Covington, a black woman, had been charged with a hate crime and kidnapping in connection to the torture of a white mentally ill man. From December 31, 2016 to January 2, 2017, Covington and three other black defendants, including her older sister Tanishia Covington, Tesfaye Cooper and Jordan Hill, all held the mentally ill victim in the Covingtons’ apartment. Brittany narrated multiple graphic Facebook Live videos showing the man being hit and kicked, having his clothes cut off with a knife, being forced to drink from a toilet, and being ordered to say, “I love black people.” He was also called a supporter of then-President-elect Donald Trump. Her probation bars her from contacting Cooper or Hill or using social media. The other three defendants’ plea deals are being negotiated.