Judge Increases Bond For Man Charged With Hate Crime In Brickell Bridge Confrontation
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A man accused of yelling racial slurs at a group of young protesters had his bond increased in court Tuesday morning.
Mark Bartlett was ordered to appear before a judge after prosecutors requested an increase in his bond, which was granted.
Bartlett is accused of hate crimes after investigators say he yelled racial slurs and brandished a gun at protesters.
He was initially charged with carrying a concealed firearm. More charges were added to include three counts of aggravated assault with prejudice and improperly exhibiting a firearm, along with carrying a concealed firearm.
Due to the hate crimes enhancement, that would make the penalty even more severe, if found guilty.
"It's not a hate crime. This is a political prosecution," says Bartlett's attorney Jane Weintraub. "We don't have mob justice in America. We hope it will be vindicated in a court of law, and not tried in the court of public opinion."
Tuesday, the judge also ordered him not to have any contact with the teenagers involved in the confrontation.
This all started during the "Wheels Up, Guns Down" event over Martin Luther King Junior weekend. That's when Bartlett was caught on cell phone video with a gun yelling racial slurs at a group of teenagers.
The teens had been blocking traffic riding their bikes in protest of housing issues.
Bartlett's girlfriend is in the video saying one of them ran over her foot on their bike.
A large group from the Underrepresented Peoples Positive Action Council showed up in the courtroom as a showing of support for the teenagers.
"It's especially important when you have such an insidious at that perpetrated in the streets of downtown Miami that the entire community rise up to speak against that," says attorney Monique Hayes, who is President of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Junior Bar Association. "There is no room for hate crimes at all."
Last week, Bartlett did not appear in court for an arraignment, but his attorney entered a written plea of not guilty.
On Tuesday, bond was set at $32,500. Weintraub said they would be posting it that day.
Bartlett's trial is scheduled for June 24th.