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Road Rage Attacker Shows Up in Court in Blackface to Challenge Life Sentence

Mark Char from Honolulu, Hawaii, was found guilty of attempted murder and assault after he attacked a driver and his passenger with a pepper spray and a knife in a 2016 road rage altercation.
Road rage attacker gets life in prison, shows up in court in blackface to challenge the sentence 38 photos
Photo: Facebook / Hawaii News Now
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At what should have been a routine sentencing hearing earlier this month, Char showed up in blackface and delivered a 3-minute rant against the judge and his “kangaroo court,” and even his own court-appointed lawyer, whom he deemed “incompetent,” Hawaii News Now reports.

You can see a fragment of Char’s rant in the video at the bottom of the page. Char, of course, is not black, but he told the judge that he was using blackface to challenge the sentence he’d been given for his part in the road rage incident.

Prosecutors established that, in 2016, Char was driving on the H1-Freeway when he got into a spat with a fellow motorist. He got out of the car and pepper sprayed the other driver and his passenger, before stabbing them repeatedly. He also stabbed a third man who tried to intervene to break up the fight. He was found guilty of attempted murder and assault, and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Char claimed that the attack was in self-defense and tried to convince the judge to hand him a lighter sentence by arguing that he was being discriminated against. Much like a black man would be in similar circumstances.

“Now this kangaroo court is trying to give me a life sentence for me trying to protect and defend myself against the attack from three guys – in essence, treating me like a black man,” Char said. “So today, I’m going to be a black man,” he added.

The judge wasn’t amused by his antics, so the sentence still stands. Moreover, Char will be disciplined for doing blackface, which means he might get confinement and lose other privileges while in jail. He was warned to wash his face of the black permanent marker before appearing in front of the judge, but refused.

“This continues a pattern of disruptive behavior designed to undermine the administration of justice,” the judge told Char. “What you need to do is look in the mirror. And if you look in the mirror, Mr. Char, you’re not gonna see a black person. You’re gonna see a menace. You’re gonna see a menace to society.”

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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