Timothy Caughman Killing: Rally Planned In Union Square

UNION SQUARE, NY — Hundreds of protestors are expected to take to the streets on Friday night in New York to protest the fatal stabbing of Timothy Caughman, a black man who was killed on Monday after authorities say a white man traveled to the city specifically to target black men.

Caughman died Monday night after staggering into a midtown police precinct near where he was struck. James Jackson, who was charged in Caughman's death on Thursday, allegedly traveled to New York City from Baltimore to fulfill his plan to kill black men because it is the "media capital of the world," according to authorities. Police said Jackson picked Caughman at random at that he killed him with a sword.

New York activists say they have organized an "emergency action" to protest Caughman's death and hate crimes in New York City more broadly. Protestors plan to meet in Union Square at 6 p.m. on Friday and march to midtown Manhattan, where Caughman was killed. There, marchers say they'll hold a moment of silence for victims of hate crimes.

Multiple city officials have condemned the attack, including Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, planned a separate action on Friday at 11:30 a.m. to denounce Caughman's death. Adams and city council members met at the midtown corner where police say Caughman was fatally stabbed. Adams is calling on the Manhattan district attorney to prosecute Caughman's death as an act of terrorism and charge Jackson with murder in the first degree.

On Thursday, Jackson was arraigned and charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime. A prosecutor described Caughman's death as "most likely an act of terrorism" at Jackson's arraignment on Thursday.

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