A New York woman has been indicted on hate crime charges after prosecutors say she pepper-sprayed a Muslim Uber driver as he was praying.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors this week charged 23-year-old Jennifer Guilbeault with three hate crime and assault counts after they say she pepper sprayed her Uber driver as he was praying in Arabic on July 31.
“As alleged, Jennifer Guilbeault senselessly assaulted a Muslim Uber driver while he was just doing his job”, said District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “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.”.
The Uber driver, identified by WABC as 45-year-old Shohel Mahmud, picked up Guilbeault and a friend on West 46th Street, but once they approached East 65th Street and Lexington Avenue, he says Guilbeault lunged from her seat and pepper sprayed Mahmud. Seconds after being sprayed, Mahmud attempted to get out of the car, but still had his seatbelt on. According to Mahmud, the burning lasted for two hours.
As mentioned by CNN, Mahmud subsequently called 911 and Guilbeault was arrested.
The incident would be captured on video.
“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”, said Mahmud in a WABC interview. “I jumped in and put in park and got out”.
Mahmud told WABC that he didn’t speak to the women, and said that the incident hurts him financially, as he is the breadwinner of his family currently living in Bangladesh.
“The rider’s actions shown in the video are deplorable”, said an Uber spokesperson to WABC. “Violence is not tolerated, and the rider has been banned from the Uber platform. We will support police in their investigation however we can.”.
According to CNN, Guilbeault is set to re-appear at a court hearing in January.
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