Man says attacker threw acid, accused him of invading U.S.

MILWAUKEE » Milwaukee police arrested a man suspected of throwing battery acid on a Hispanic man who says his attacker asked him, “Why did you come here and invade my country?”

Police said Monday they arrested a 61-year-old white man suspected in Friday night’s attack and were investigating the case as a hate crime. They refused to release his name pending charges, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel identified him as Clifton A. Blackwell, a military veteran whose mother said had struggled with posttraumatic stress.

Mahud Villalaz suffered second-degree burns to his face. He said the attack happened after a man confronted him about how he had parked his car and accused him of being in the U.S. illegally. Villalaz, 42, is a U.S. citizen who immigrated from Peru.

The attack comes amid a spike in hate crimes directed at immigrants that researchers and experts on extremism say is tied to mainstream political rhetoric.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett expressed shock at the attack and blamed President Donald Trump for inciting hatred against minorities. The president has repeatedly referred to migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border as an “invasion.”

“To single out someone because they’re from a Hispanic origin is simply wrong. And we know what’s happening,” Barrett, a Democrat, said. “Everybody knows what’s happening. It’s because the president is talking about it on a daily basis that people feel they have license to go after Hispanic people. And it’s wrong.”

White House spokesman Judd Deere said the Trump administration has “repeatedly condemned racism, bigotry and violence.”