‘I’m Gonna Kill You!: White Man Blames Alcohol, Claims He’s Not Racist as Michigan Judge Hands Down Sentence for Hate-Filled Attack on Black Man at Hotel Pool

A white man convicted of a racially motivated attack on a Black family three years ago at a Michigan hotel has been sentenced to a minimum of two years and up to 10 years in prison, following a ruling by a Kent County judge. Joel Peter Venema, of Allendale, west of Grand Rapids, was sent away in late July after pleading guilty in April to ethnic intimidation, assault with intent to do great bodily harm (less than murder or by strangulation), and resisting arrest. The vicious assault took place on the night of Aug. 7, 2021, at the Staybridge Suites in Kentwood, but Venema’s appeals delayed his guilty plea and sentencing for nearly three years while the family he tormented waited for justice. Michigan man Joel Venema (above) is facing multiple charges after an Aug. 7, 2021, incident at a hotel pool in which police say he berated a Black man with racial insults and threats and then attacked him. (Photo: WOOD/YouTube screenshot) The primary victim in the case, Jackie Beard, had just gotten off work and was cooling off at the hotel pool with his family, unaware of the explosive situation that was about to unfold. “Then all of...