A young woman was indicted for a hate crime after she pepper-sprayed a Muslim Uber driver in Manhattan during the summer, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said, per NY Post.
Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, was charged in New York State Supreme Court with two counts of assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment for the unprovoked attack, which happened without on July 31. The incident took place near Lexington Avenue and East 66th Street, as stated by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
The driver, Shohel Mahmud, later said that Guilbeault attacked him because of his skin color.
“Her friend, she is yelling, ‘Jen, Jen, what the f–k, what are you doing? What’s going on?’”
Mahmud told The Post days after the attack.
“Her friend is asking ‘Why did you do that?’ And she say, ‘He’s brown.’”
Guilbeault was sitting in the backseat with another woman around 12:15 a.m. when she suddenly sprayed the harmful substance in the 45-year-old driver’s eyes, as shown in videos shared on social media. The driver, Mahmud, said he hadn’t talked to the women when he picked them up in Midtown. Bragg mentioned that Guilbeault attacked the driver when he started praying in Arabic as they approached a red light.
At the time Mahmud believed the women were trying to rob him and jumped out of the car. When the car started moving slowly without him, he got back inside, and Guilbeault sprayed him again. Police arrested Guilbeault at the scene but initially only gave her a ticket. Her lawyer argued that the incident shouldn’t be considered a hate crime.
“Ms. Guilbeault was not motivated by race, religion, national origin, or any other discriminatory factor,”
Michael J. Alber said in a statement. Her next court date is scheduled for January 13.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
