AN ACT OF FORGIVENESS

 

He slashed their tires and shot into their home over their BLM sign. His Black neighbors forgave him.


Over four days last year, Michael John Frederick Jr. terrorized a family living in a Detroit suburb, slashing their tires, scrawling a swastika on their car and firing several bullets at their home — all because he was angry about their Black Lives Matter sign.

But as Candace and Eddie Hall faced the 25-year-old in court Monday during his sentencing, it wasn’t anger or bitterness they decided to express.

Instead, it was forgiveness.

“You’re a good kid,” Candace Hall, 55, told Frederick Jr., she recalled to The Washington Post. “Made a bad choice.”

Judge Diane Druzinski told the Halls she was in “awe” of them, praising their “strength, wisdom and forgiveness,” according to the Macomb Daily News. “I wish I was as good as people as you.”

Frederick Jr. echoed the judge as he expressed remorse, telling the family, “I think you guys are some great people and didn’t deserve this at all.”

The Halls’ journey grappling with the aftermath of a hate crime in Warren, Michigan’s third-largest city, has drawn praise in the community, where rapidly shifting demographics, a racist past and deep political divisions have fueled tensions.

The Halls hope their response shows healing and unity are possible.

“We’re going for a restoration, not just of the building, but of our hearts and spirits,” Candace Hall said. “And that includes restoring him as well.”

Frederick Jr. denied racism, saying in several court appearances his actions were motivated by politics. “This wasn’t about the color of anyone’s skin,” he said at an October hearing.

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