A New York woman has been handed hate crime charges after pepper-spraying her Muslim Uber driver while he was reportedly praying in Arabic.
Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, was arrested in August in Manhattan after she was caught on camera pepper-spraying her driver, Shohel Mahmud, while still in the car. Guilbeault has since been charged with second-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree assault as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment, as reported by The Guardian.
Mahmud picked up Guilbeault and a friend in early August. Mahmud began reciting a prayer in Arabic while in the Upper East Side, when Guilbeault allegedly lunged forward and pepper-sprayed his face, as reported by WABC-TV.
"I'm kind of hanging out of the car, so I take my buckle off, close my eyes and get out, and then I realized my car was still running. I jumped in and put [the car] in park and got out," Mahmud told WABC-TV, adding that the burning lasted for two hours.
"The victim is a hardworking New Yorker who should not have to face this type of hate because of his identity. Everyone is welcome to live and work in Manhattan, and our Hate Crimes Unit will continue to address bias-motivated attacks by thoroughly investigating and prosecuting cases, conducting community outreach, and supporting victims," Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement.
An Uber spokesperson told WABC-TV that the woman's actions were "deplorable" and that "the rider has been banned from the Uber platform."
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