Woman charged with several hate crimes

On November 1, 2024By Littum

Prosecutors accused Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, of pepper-spraying an Uber driver in an anti-Muslim attack in New York City.

A woman was indicted on multiple counts, including second- and third-degree assault as a hate crime, for 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 assault as a hate crime, third-degree assault as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s 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 on 31 July. The driver was in the process of giving a ride to Guilbeault and another passenger who was in the back of the vehicle.

The driver began praying in Arabic after he stopped at a red light at an intersection, the district attorney’s office said. At the time, prosecutors said Guilbeault “steered toward the driver’s seat with a can of pepper spray” and sprayed the driver in the face.

The driver experienced burning, redness and pain from the pepper spray and called 911 minutes after the attack, the district attorney’s office said. Guilbeault was arrested at the scene.

New York City television station, WPIX, reported in August that Guilbeault was charged with assault and battery as a hate crime, but denied that 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 see this type of hate because of her identity. Everyone is welcome to live and work in Manhattan.”

Pepper spray attack caught on camera

The Uber driver, identified as Shohel Mahmud by more mediatold 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 eyes. Guilbeault then grabs Mahmud’s arm and pulls him back as he tries to push her away.

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

When the other passenger asked Guilbeault why she attacked the driver, Guilbeault reportedly replied, “he’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 United States, said in a statement Tuesday that it “applauds” the charge against Guilbeault.

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

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 — a 69% increase over the same period in 2023.

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