Two Boston brothers charged with urinating on and beating a homeless Mexican man in an attack allegedly inspired by Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump's views on immigrants agreed on Thursday to remain in custody until trial.
The brothers, Scott Leader, 38, and Steve Leader, 30, were arrested last month and charged with assault and battery for the purpose of intimidation because of national origin.
The pair agreed to waive a hearing that could have determined whether they would be released on bail before trial,
according to their lawyers, Gary McGillivray and John Flanagan,
The judge set an Oct. 1 trial date.
The men told police they targeted their 58-year-old victim, whom the Mexican Consulate in Boston identified as Guillermo Rodriguez, because they believed he was an illegal immigrant. According to a police report, they told officers, "Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported."
Trump, the New York property developer and former reality TV celebrity, has jumped to the front of the pack of candidates seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, driven in part by promises to deport all illegal immigrants and order the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.
Trump, who initially described the attack as an outcome of passionate views on immigration, called it "terrible" on Twitter on Friday.
"Guillermo Rodríguez is grateful and deeply moved by the expressions of support from the community at large," the consulate in Boston said in a statement on Thursday. "He will be fully cooperating with the criminal investigation."
One of the brothers went on to threaten police officers, saying from his cell that he would attack them if he were not locked up.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.