Playground Slur Case Takes Dark Turn For Free Speech

A Minnesota jury found a woman guilty of disorderly conduct after she repeatedly used the racial slur “n*gger” during a confrontation at a playground. 

Thirty-seven-year-old Shiloh Marie Hendrix was captured on video as a bystander confronted her for allegedly directing the racial slur at an autistic child. Although the alleged remark itself was not captured on video, the bystander urged Hendrix to repeat it while recording the encounter.

Rochester City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage charged Hendrix with two counts of disorderly conduct, one for her alleged behavior toward the child and the other for her confrontation with the bystander. A jury acquitted Hendrix on the first count but convicted her on the second, finding her guilty of disorderly conduct for directing the racial slur at Omar rather than the child. 

She was sentenced to one year of supervised probation, fined $1,000, and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service. She faces a 90-day jail sentence only if she violates the terms of her probation.

The man who recorded the confrontation, Sharmake Beyle Omar, was previously charged in a sexual assault case involving a 16-year-old girl. Prosecutors later dismissed those charges “in the interest of justice.” 

According to the criminal complaint, the confrontation began after an eight-year-old autistic boy took an applesauce pouch from Hendrix’s diaper bag. Both Hendrix and the boy’s father chased the child as he climbed onto playground equipment in an attempt to get away. Hendrix allegedly shouted at him and repeatedly used the racial slur. 

While recording on his phone, Omar asked Hendrix why she called the child the racial slur, noting that the boy was autistic. Hendrix replied that she used the word because “he acts like one” and said he had taken her son’s belongings. When Omar continued confronting her, Hendrix responded, “I don’t give a sh*t and f*ck off.” 

Hendrix’s attorney blasted the verdict.

“I think it’s pathetic,” defense attorney Brian Karalus said. “I think it’s sad. I think it’s sick … this is a fraud upon the community.”

Karalus argued the government was “prosecuting a young lady for language,” and this trial was the result of cancel culture. He added that Hendrix’s choice of words was inappropriate but that there is a difference between inappropriate and illegal. 

Prosecutor Nicholas Shabel argued jurors should consider both Hendrix’s conduct and her language. 

Shabel argued that Hendrix’s “screaming at the child, her demeanor, her language all speak to this. All of those are appropriate for your consideration,” said Shabel.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) set up a GoFundMe for the child, raising more than $340,000.

The incident drew backlash from conservatives. 

The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh said, “The Shiloh Hendrix case isn’t even a close call or a grey area. She was charged and convicted of a crime for saying a word. If that’s not a violation of the First Amendment, nothing is. This is one of the most straightforward free speech issues we’ve seen in a long time.”