Judge rules Nazi group owes Black musician nearly $3 million for attacking him one July 4 weekend in Copley Square

A federal judge today awarded street musician and teacher Charles Murrell III $2.76 million in actual and punitive damages against the Nazi group Patriot Front and its leader Thomas Rousseau for the way they pinned him against a light pole, beat him and forced him into a busy street on July 2, 2022 as he was making his way to play his saxophone outside the BPL and they were stomping through the Back Bay in a display of their alleged racial superiority.

Now, however, Murrell has to try to collect on the ruling by US District Court Indira Talwani. Rousseau, who took part in the deadly Charlottesville tiki-torch rampages, never appeared in court to answer the charges, and the last known mailing address used by the court was a jail in Texas.

Talwani said Rousseau's evidence left little doubt: The Nazis, who hate minorities and want to murder Jews, had trained for months to cause trouble in Boston and when a wave of them khaki-marched showed up in Copley Square and encountered a Black man by himself, they were going to beat him:

On July 2, 2022, members of Patriot Front, including Rousseau, assembled for the flash march. Crowding others off the public sidewalks, Patriot Front members carried shields, flags, and signs that read "RECLAIM AMERICA." Members (other than Rousseau) also wore face coverings that hid their identities. The group stopped briefly at the Boston Public Library, where their leader, Rousseau, gave a speech about his view that liberty and safety are incompatible. After leaving the Boston Public Library, approximately 100 Patriot Front members marched towards the Freedom Trail, vastly outnumbering the handful of Boston police officers present on foot or bike. At the intersection of Stuart and Dartmouth Streets, Patriot Front encountered Charles Murrell.

Murrell was on his way to play saxophone near the Boston Public Library and heard the marchers' snare drum as he walked in the direction of the sound. Murrell saw Patriot Front moving towards him on the sidewalk, and observed signs that read, "Reclaim America," as well as colony flags. Murrell reached for his phone to record the scene but was too nervous to successfully unlock his phone to start a recording. Murrell heard one of the attackers in the group called him "tar baby." Dr. Simi testified that the use of this racial slur is an example of the triggering provocation characteristic of white supremacist groups. Murrell tried to walk forward on the sidewalk. But Patriot Front members blocked the wide public sidewalk from end to end. The group circled Murrell and pushed him back over two car lengths as members yelled, "DO NOT BREAK OUR RANKS." Rousseau then yelled "RIGHT SCREEN," and the group began shoving Murrell to the group's right, into the street. When Murrell stepped back on the sidewalk, the group pressed him up against a concrete light post, knocked him to the ground, and hit and kicked him. Finally, Murrell heard somebody say, "that's enough," and as law enforcement arrived, the attackers moved on.

The Nazis later posted video of their attack on their Web site.

Talwani said Murrell and his lawyers more than adequately proved the Nazis violated his civil rights, including:

Plaintiff has alleged a conspiracy whose purpose was to deprive Plaintiff, and people like Plaintiff, of the equal protection of the laws because of their race - specifically his rights to "be free of the badges and incidents of slavery pursuant to the Thirteenth Amendment, as well as Mr. Murrell's rights to travel protected by the Fourteenth Amendment." Patriot Front had between 200 and 300 members as of the end of 2021.

These members worked together to promote the view that only descendants of white European immigrants are "true" Americans, that African Americans are not American, and that the rise in "extranational masses" will cause "the thin veneer of civilization [to] begin to wane," To promote this agenda, Patriot Front members participated in flash demonstrations like the one in Boston, where they wore matching clothes and face coverings and used violent tactics learned through drills, id.

The Boston flash march was planned months in advance, and before the march, Rousseau instructed Patriot Front members to engage in physical training, including with shields like those used in the attack of Murrell. During the attack, Patriot Front members acted in consort to pin Plaintiff against a light post and force him off the sidewalk. One member of the group called Plaintiff a racial slur immediately before the attack, while other members carried banners displaying racist messages during the attack. These actions amount to a conspiracy to deprive Plaintiff of his equal rights due to his race.

And she wrote that Murrell continues to suffer physical problems from the attack - he can no longer play the saxophone as long as he once could because injuries from that day force his hand to lock up. More important, though, she continued, are the psychological problems from which he still suffers. She cited one clinician's report:

She found that Patriot Front's attack of Murrell caused him psychological damage and distress—damage and distress that have devastated his ability to earn a living, dampened his passion for music, caused him to isolate himself from family and friends, and generally hindered his ability to function and make decisions day-to-day. Dr. Adams explained that the attack was a significant traumatic event for Murrell that led him to experience intrusive thoughts, demonstrate disproportionate reactions to minor stimuli, engage in hypervigilance with respect to his environment, and consistently feel unsafe. She explained further that, after the attack, Murrell experienced low energy, a lack of motivation to engage in once-routine tasks, trouble thinking, social withdrawal, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, and bouts of crying. Murrell also displayed diminished insight into his negative emotions and reasons for acting in certain ways, such as withdrawing from family life. Dr. Adams concluded that the attack caused Murrell's severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder , major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. These conditions overwhelm Murrell's coping skills and impact his ability to function. Dr. Adams stated that Murrell's prognosis is poor without intervention and clinical support. She further stated that he lacks the financial resources to access mental health services and is focusing on day-to-day survival. Murrell has not engaged in formal counseling since the attack.

She continued:

The attack made it difficult for Murrell to play the saxophone with the same intensity. Murrell now performs on the street only one to two days per week, and only in hour or hour-and- a-half stints. He tried playing near the Boston Public Library again but experienced a panic attack for the first time and stopped performing in that area. Murrell now primarily plays in less trafficked locations where he feels safer. Due to these changes, he now makes between $50 and $75 per street performance.

Murrell still engages in other performances, but only once or twice every other week, for between $25 and $100 per performance. He makes less in these performances than he did in his performances before the attack because his anxiety has led him to seek out performance environments that cause him less psychological harm. Murrell still works with children, but primarily in one-on-one settings, rather than with 20 or more students at a time as he did before. He works one-on-one because he now struggles to regulate his negative emotions when working with larger groups.

Talwani then calculated damages, including money that would help Murrell make up for lost wages and to get ongoing help with his psychological trauma. And then she added $2 million on top of that as punitive damages:

This court finds that this standard for punitive damages is met here. As discussed above, Patriot Front's physical attack of Murrell occurred with Rousseau's encouragement, on a public sidewalk that Patriot Front and Rousseau sought to control without regard for Murrell's right to be there. Murrell's attackers showed no remorse for their actions. Instead, Patriot Front and Rousseau glorified the attack by posting a video online with a clip of the group pinning Murrell against the light post and pushing him into the busy road, to promote the view that non-white individuals like Murrell should be subordinated to white people. Punitive damages are necessary to deter similar acts in the future.