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A Michigan man is facing felony hate crime charges after allegedly launching a racist attack against his Black neighbors, per Click On Detroit.
43-year-old Martin Sitto was arrested June 29 on charges of hate crime using force, assaulting/resisting a police officer, assault and battery, and trespassing after police responded to the attack in a Detroit suburb.
According to police, Sitto trespassed onto his neighbors' property, shouted racial slurs, and violently attacked at least two Black residents. Sitto reportedly punched and spat on them while yelling phrases like “the white race is ending.”
“He asked me to tell the police that they assaulted him,” one white neighbor said. “I think he assumed because I’m white, I’d be on his side. But I knew what I saw. I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.”
The neighbor said she witnessed Sitto punch and spit on the victims and tried to help by intervening physically and wiping spit from their faces.
“Even if I were to end up having a black eye, it would be better that I’m hurt and holding him back than having him constantly hurting these people just for existing and because of the color of their skin," she said.
Another neighbor described Sitto as a “danger to society" who frequently shouted racist and homophobic slurs, made threats, and had terrorized the area.
When police responded to the attack, Sitto allegedly resisted arrest, swung at officers, and issued violent threats toward residents and officials in multiple cities, including Hazel Park, Royal Oak, and Troy.
“He was completely unhinged,” one neighbor said. “Shouting threats about Hazel Park, Royal Oak, Troy … saying everyone was going to die. He didn’t stop, even when he was in handcuffs.”
Authorities confirmed Sitto has a criminal history including assault with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence, and felonious assault, along with a known history of substance abuse and mental health issues.
Sitto was booked into jail on a $25,000 bond and ordered not to contact the victims.
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