Jelani Day’S family has hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump as their lawyer as they continue to seek answers about his disappearance and death. Crump now calls on the FBI to initiate a hate crime investigation.
According to ABC News, Attorney Ben Crump joined Day’s family during a press conference at the Rainbow Push Coalition’s headquarters in Chicago. Attorney Crump demanded the FBI to investigate Jelani’s case as a federal hate crime.
“We are asking the FBI to make this young, Black man named Jelani Day a priority just like they did the young white woman, Gabby Petito, because his life matters just like hers,” Crump pleaded.
Crump is known for representing the families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Crump took this case personally and said he came to Chicago with a singular mission, to make the public aware that Day did not die by suicide and that it’s time for the U.S. attorney general and FBI to take over the case and take it seriously.
“Jelani was our fraternity brother, a member of Omega Pi Phi,” Crump said. “So beyond the fact that he was one of the most promising, one of the most gifted, one of the most intelligent Black men that we have to offer the world, he was also my frat brother. So that’s why we declare to make him a priority. He will be the face of Black and missing in America.
Related Story: Jelani Day’s Cause Of Death Revealed As Drowning, Coronor States
Day’s mother, Carmen, also continues to question the investigation by local police and the LaSalle County sheriff.
In September, Carmen interviewed with Newsy, where she compared Gabby’s national coverage to the coverage her son received. She explained that Jelani hadn’t been getting coverage, although he had been missing for 24 days, and it seemed like the effort to find him slacked down because everyone knew about Gabby.
“I wasn’t getting any help. I didn’t have the resources. I didn’t have the ability to have people out there searching for my child,” she said. “I didn’t have all the drones. I didn’t have all the police officers. I didn’t have any of that. I still don’t have that.”
The LaSalle County coroner ruled Day’s death a drowning, but Crump and Carmen do not believe the narrative and want the FBI to investigate the case as a hate crime. We will continue to provide updates to this case as new information becomes available.
