Police report : Madison woman burned with lighter fluid in potential hate crime
MADISON - An 18-year-old Black woman was burned with lighter fluid in an assault in downtown Madison early Wednesday, according to a Madison police report.
The woman, identified by Madison 365 as local EMT Althea Bernstein, was stopped at a red light near State Street about 1 a.m. Wednesday, when she was attacked by what she told police were four white men.
According to a report from Madison police, someone yelled a racial epithet at Bernstein, threw lighter fluid on her through her open window and ignited it with a lighter. Bernstein told police she patted out the flames and drove to her mother’s house. She eventually went to the hospital for treatment.
Images provided to Madison 365 show burns on
Bernstein’s neck, cheek and under one of her eyes.
The incident came hours after protesters smashed windows and tore down statues at the Wisconsin State Capitol. The same night, Democratic state Sen. Tim Carpenter was assaulted after filming protesters.
Police did not say whether the attack on Bernstein was linked to the protests or outside agitators, but Bernstein told Madison 365 that two of the men involved were wearing “jeans and a floral shirt.”
Members of the far-right movement known as the Boogaloo are known for wearing Hawaiian shirts. This group’s intentions are unclear, with some members seemingly determined to protect protesters and others hoping to provoke violence.
Police said they are investigating the assault as a hate crime.
Bernstein did not respond to a request for an interview Thursday.