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Woman accused of multiple hate crimes

Online Niel October 30, 2024

Prosecutors have accused 23-year-old Jennifer Guilbeault of pepper-spraying an Uber driver in an anti-Muslim attack in New York.

A woman has been charged with multiple charges, including second- and third-degree assault as a hate crime, for pepper-spraying a 45-year-old Uber driver in an unprovoked attack in New York City earlier this year , prosecutors said.

Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, was charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count each of second-degree hate crime assault, third-degree hate crime assault and harassment second-degree aggravated assault, according to the Manhattan District Attorney. Office. Prosecutors accused Guilbeault of pepper-spraying an Uber driver in an anti-Muslim attack on the Upper East Side in July.

According to the district attorney’s office, the incident occurred around 12:15 a.m. on July 31. The driver was in the process of completing a ride for Guilbeault and another passenger, who was sitting in the back of the vehicle.

The driver began praying in Arabic after stopping at a red light at an intersection, prosecutors said. At that point, prosecutors said, Guilbeault “lunged forward toward the driver’s seat, holding a can of pepper spray” and sprayed the driver in the face.

The driver had burns, redness and pain from the pepper spray and called 911 minutes after the attack, according to prosecutors. Guilbeault was arrested at the scene.

New York television station WPIX, reported in August that Guilbeault was charged with assault and battery as a hate crime, but denied the attack was racially motivated.

“As alleged, Jennifer Guilbeault senselessly assaulted a Muslim Uber driver while he was just doing his job,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Monday. “The victim is a hard-working New Yorker who should not have to face this kind of hatred because of his identity. Everyone is welcome to live and work in Manhattan.”

Pepper spray attack caught on camera

The Uber driver, identified as Shohel Mahmud of several media outletshe said CBS New York and WPIX in August that he believed the incident was racially motivated and that he worked fewer hours after the attack out of fear for his safety.

Dash cam footage obtained by local television stations showed Guilbeault lunging forward and pepper-spraying Mahmud in the eye. Guilbeault then grabs Mahmud’s arm, pulling him back as he tries to push her away.

Mahmud is seen unbuckling his seat belt and jumping out of the car, but immediately turns around as the vehicle moves. He then puts the car into park while the second passenger pulls Guilbeault back.

When the second passenger asked Guilbeault why he attacked the driver, Guilbeault allegedly replied, “it’s brown,” according to the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY).

The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights group condemns the incident

CAIR-NY, a chapter of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the US, said in a statement Tuesday that it “welcomed” Guilbeault’s indictment.

“We applaud the hate crime charges in this case and thank law enforcement for sending a clear message that those who engage in bias-motivated attacks will face consequences,” said CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher in a statement.

Nasher noted the recent increase in anti-Muslim incidents across the country. According to CAIR, the organization documented 4,951 bias complaints nationwide between January and June of this year — marking a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2023.

Earlier this year, CAIR reported that the organization received “the largest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history,” with 8,061 documented complaints in 2023. Nearly half of those complaints were reported in the last three months, as a result of escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza in October 2023.