Protesters sit on the street outside the Dane County Jail on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, in Madison, Wis. About 40 people gathered outside the jail, calling for the release of a Black man who was arrested Tuesday after shouting at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
The Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - An assault on a biracial woman in Madison was being investigated Thursday as a hate crime after the woman told police she was burned by lighter fluid thrown at her and ignited by a white man, just a few blocks from violent protests at the state Capitol.
Althea Bernstein told police she was driving near the Capitol about 1 a.m. Wednesday and had stopped at a red light with her driver's side window down. Bernstein, 18, told police she heard someone yell out a racial epithet, looked around and saw four white men.
One sprayed liquid on her face and neck and threw a flaming lighter at her, she told police. Bernstein said she pulled forward, put out the flames and drove home where her mother encouraged her to go to the hospital. She was treated for burns. Hospital staff believe the liquid was lighter fluid, police said.
A call by The Associated Press to Bernstein's home was referred to Michael Johnson, president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County. Johnson released a statement from Bernstein's family that they were 'œsaddened at what happened to Althea and the unprovoked attack on her body. At this time, our family is asking everyone to respect our privacy as Althea is recovering from the burns on her face and neck.'ť
The assault came amid a night of violence Tuesday that included the toppling of two statues outside the Capitol and an attack on a state senator. A group of 200 to 300 people protested the arrest of a Black man after he shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat.
Someone also threw a Molotov cocktail into a government building and attempted to break into the Capitol, only to be repelled by pepper spray from police stationed inside. The violence prompted Gov. Tony Evers to activate the National Guard to protect state properties.
On Wednesday night, about 40 people gathered peacefully outside the county jail where the man was being held, calling for his release. A crowd of about 100 people congregated outside the Capitol.
A pedestal where the statue of famed abolitionist Col. Hans Christian Heg stood sits empty outside the State Capitol, Wednesday, June, 24, 2020, in Madison, Wis. Protesters tore down statues of Forward and a Union Civil War colonel. They also assaulted a state senator and damaged the Capitol, Tuesday night after the arrest of a Black activist earlier in the day. (Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The Associated Press
A pedestal where the Forward statue once stood sits empty, Wednesday, June, 24, 2020, in Madison, Wis. Protesters tore down statues of Forward and a Union Civil War colonel. They also assaulted a state senator and damaged the Capitol, Tuesday night after the arrest of a Black activist earlier in the day. (Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The Associated Press
A pedestal where the Forward statue once stood sits empty, Wednesday, June, 24, 2020, in Madison, Wis. Protesters tore down statues of Forward and a Union Civil War colonel. They also assaulted a state senator and damaged the Capitol, Tuesday night after the arrest of a Black activist earlier in the day. (Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The Associated Press
Wisconsin's "Forward" statue lies in the street on Capitol Square in Madison, Wis. Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Crowds outside the Wisconsin State Capitol tore down two statues and attacked a state senator amid protests following the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. (Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The Associated Press
The windows of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership in Madison, Wis. are shattered during demonstrations Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Crowds outside the Wisconsin State Capitol tore down two statues and attacked a state senator amid protests following the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. (Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The Associated Press
The base of a statue of Col. Hans Christian Heg, a Union Civil War colonel who fought for the end of slavery, remains after it was torn down by protesters during demonstrations in Madison, Wis. Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Crowds outside the Wisconsin State Capitol tore down two statues and attacked a state senator amid protests following the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. (Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The Associated Press
Protesters block traffic at an intersection an intersection near Capitol Square in Madison, Wis. Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Crowds outside the Wisconsin State Capitol tore down two statues and attacked a state senator amid protests following the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. (Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The Associated Press
Wisconsin's "Forward" statue lies in the street on Capitol Square in Madison, Wis. Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Crowds outside the Wisconsin State Capitol tore down two statues and attacked a state senator amid protests following the arrest of a Black man who shouted at restaurant customers through a megaphone while carrying a baseball bat. (Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)
The Associated Press