Hendrix’s attorney established that Jimale first contacted the Rochester NAACP after the video had spread on TikTok roughly 10 days later.
Minnesota mother Shiloh Hendrix, 37, was found guilty Thursday of one count of disorderly conduct following a four-day jury trial in the viral case involving Shire Jimale, the father of an autistic Somali boy accused of taking an item from Hendrix's diaper bag before she responded by calling him a racial slur. She will be forced to pay a $1,000 fine and complete community service. She will not be made to serve the 90-day jail term unless she violates probation.
A jury in Olmsted County District Court acquitted Hendrix on a second misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge after more than nine hours of deliberations. Hendrix was found guilty of disorderly conduct against the man who filmed and taunted her, but not against the child. The Somali immigrant who filmed her did not film the confrontation between her and the child, just between himself and Hendrix.
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As first reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune, Judge Christa M. Daily sentenced Hendrix to a stayed 90-day jail sentence, placed her on supervised probation, ordered her to complete 200 hours of community service and fined her $1,000.
The charges stemmed from an April 28, 2025, confrontation at Roy Sutherland Playground in Soldiers Field Memorial Park in Rochester. According to testimony at trial, the 8-year-old autistic Somali boy removed a packet of applesauce from Hendrix's 18-month-old son's diaper bag. Hendrix chased after the child and called him the n-word before a bystander confronted her and recorded the encounter. The video quickly went viral, drawing national attention and igniting debate over race, free speech, and the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.
Throughout the trial, Hendrix's attorney argued the prosecution was an attempt to criminalize offensive speech protected by the First Amendment. Prosecutors countered that the case was not about protected expression but whether Hendrix's words and conduct constituted unlawful "fighting words" under Minnesota's disorderly conduct statute. Judge Daily instructed jurors on that legal standard before they began deliberating.
The trial also revealed new details about the events following the confrontation.
Jimale testified through a Somali interpreter that he did not immediately report the incident to police. During cross-examination, Hendrix's attorney established that Jimale first contacted the Rochester NAACP after the video had spread on TikTok roughly 10 days later. According to testimony, the organization then encouraged him to file a police report.
Jimale further testified that the Rochester NAACP established a fundraiser for his family after the incident attracted national attention. According to testimony, the fundraiser was later closed after another family falsely claimed to be involved in the case, and the money was ultimately placed into a trust for his son.
Outside the Olmsted County Government Center after the verdict, Rochester NAACP President Wale Elegbede called the outcome a mixed result because Hendrix was convicted on only one of the two misdemeanor charges.
The case drew nationwide attention after the bystander's video spread across social media. Hendrix later launched an online fundraiser, saying her family had been doxxed and received threats following the incident. The campaign ultimately raised more than $800,000 from supporters.
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