A New York woman has been charged with assault as a hate crime after she allegedly pepper-sprayed her Muslim Uber driver as he praying at a red light, prosecutors said Thursday.
Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, allegedly launched the “anti-Muslim” attack on July 31, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a news release Monday.
She was in the backseat of an Uber with another individual at 12:15 a.m. when she allegedly lunged forward towards the driver seat with a can of pepper spray and sprayed the driver, 45, in the face after he began praying in Arabic at a red light near East 65th Street and Lexington Avenue in the Upper East Side, officials said.
The spray caused “burning, redness and pain,” the release said. A few minutes later the driver called 911 and Guilbeault was arrested at the scene.
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Guilbeault has been charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with second-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree assault as a hate crime, and second-degree aggravated harassment.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment on Monday, and was released with non-monetary conditions, according to court records. She’s due back in court on Jan. 13.
Her attorney did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment Thursday morning.
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“As alleged, Jennifer Guilbeault senselessly assaulted a Muslim Uber driver while he was just doing his job,” District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said in a statement. “The victim is a hardworking New Yorker who should not have to face this type of hate because of his identity.”
He said the office's hate crime unit will continue to address bias-motivated attacks and support victims.
Since the Hamas-Israel war, there’s been a rise in antisemitic and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents reported in the U.S.
The Council on American Islamic Relations said in an April report that in 2023 it received the highest number of bias reports in its 30-year history. Those complaints ranged from verbal discrimination in the classroom or workplace to incidents of physical violence reported to police.
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