Late Thursday night, a jury in Rochester, Minnesota reached a split decision in the trial of a mother who called an eight-year-old Somalian boy the N-word after he stole from her baby’s diaper bag at a playground in April 2025.
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The mother, Shiloh Hendrix, is facing three months in jail for her angry outburst at the park.
A video that went viral soon after the incident, shows Hendrix being hounded by a Somalian videographer and goaded into saying the offensive word several times.
Hendrix received the verdict late Thursday night, with a jury of two men and four women finding her guilty on one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct related to her interaction with the videographer, but not guilty on the disorderly conduct count involving the boy.
The allegedly autistic child reportedly wears an ankle monitor provided by the Rochester Police Department because of his tendency to wander off.
The videographer, Sharmake Omar, was never called to testify.
Omar’s rap sheet reportedly reveals a record of serious crimes with little to no punishment.
In April 2020, Omar and a Somali friend committed a violent assault in the street. He allegedly threw a rock at a car and then attacked and beat the 16-year-old driver. When a bystander tried to intervene, Omar’s accomplice allegedly threatened him with a knife.
Omar was reportedly charged with disorderly conduct for that and only had to pay a $200 fine.
in January 2022, he and another Somali friend allegedly raped an underage foster care runaway in a trailer for two days, keeping her falsely imprisoned. In March 2025, a judge reportedly dismissed all the charges for that heinous crime “in the interest of justice.”
It was only a few weeks later when he turned his camera phone on Hendrix after she allegedly called the young Somali thief at the playground the N-word.
Omar demanded that Hendrix repeat the word on camera, and she complied, saying it four times. Omar himself can be heard saying the word five times in the less-than-one-minute video.
Judge Christa M. Daily sentenced Hendrix to a $1,000 fine, 90 days of stayed jail time, one year of supervised probation, and 200 hours of community service for saying the bad word.
Defense attorney Brian Karalus told reporters outside the courtroom that he was shocked by the verdict, calling it “pathetic,” “sad,” and sick.”
“I’ve never had a trial where they keep people—this is a misdemeanor by the way—until 10:30 at night,” he said. “Never even heard of that one before.”
Karalus said the boy’s father, Shire Jimale, “perjured himself over and over and over again” during the trial.
The attorney said the father also pretended not to understand his questions, even when repeated to him by an interpreter, but he had no problem understanding the prosecuting attorney’s questions.
“Never had a problem understanding—not one time!” he exclaimed.
Karalus said he put the detective who worked on the case on the stand, and the detective testified that Jimale had never had a problem understanding him.
But during the trial, the attorney continued, “he acted like he didn’t understand any question I asked him! Every single question was like pulling teeth!”
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Jimale also reportedly admitted, after repetitive questioning, that he saw his son take an item from the diaper bag. He testified that Hendrix chased after the boy, and he believed she was not only trying to retrieve her property but also to “rumble” with him.
Karalus pointed out that in his original statement to investigators, Jimale had made no mention of that.
Jimale, who works as a school bus driver despite supposedly not speaking any English, was also asked multiple times whether he or his family was involved with an active fundraiser. He answered “no” each time.
“That’s not true,” Karalus said, telling reporters that one of his investigators was able to donate $10 on the page Wednesday night.
“It’s open. You can donate right now!” he exclaimed, adding that the family is still falsely claiming on the site that the child was five-years-old at the time of the incident.
Tom Hennessy, an independent journalist who covered the trial, reported on X that Jimale’s testimony regarding the fundraiser was “especially bizarre.”
Jimale stated at least three or four times that he had not been involved in any fundraiser for himself or his family. When confronted with evidence showing otherwise, he initially refused to review it to refresh his memory. Moments later, he suddenly admitted working with the NAACP to raise money for his family and even knew the exact amount received. He then claimed he had full control of the funds with no conditions, insisting the NAACP had set up no trust and that all the money was deposited directly into his personal account without any stipulations.
Karalus said the family has raised $340 thousand, despite claiming they didn’t have a fundraiser. He complained that the judge wouldn’t allow him to enter that evidence into the court.
The frustrated attorney told reporters that throughout the trial, he felt like he was fighting both the prosecutor and the judge.
“It was very bizarre,” he said. “This entire thing is a shakedown.”
“I had to battle here for four days on a stupid misdemeanor,” he said.
Karalus said incredulously that the court had withheld the name of the father until Monday.
“Until the first day of trial, they didn’t even disclose his name!” he exclaimed. “Think about that! A jury trial in the United States of America—I didn’t get the name until Monday!”
Then, he said his investigators were finally able to do a “record check.”
Karalus said the cameraman, Sharmake Omar, also has a GoFundMe claiming that he has died when he is still very much alive.
“This whole thing is f-cking bullshit!” he cried. “This is a fraud. This is a fraud upon the community.”
Karalus said they will appeal the verdict and the judge’s bizarre, unfair behavior will be part of his argument.
“Yeah, the judge’s decorum, screaming at a lawyer in front of the jury, yeah, I was concerned,” he told reporters.
When asked for a final comment, Karalus replied wearily: “Do your jobs and be better—be better, be more fair. Get rid of your woke shit!”
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