Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, shown on video assaulting Shohel Mahmud after he began reciting prayer in Arabic

A New York woman who pepper-sprayed a Muslim Uber driver while he was praying has been indicted by the Manhattan district attorney on hate crime charges.

Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, is shown in a surveillance video repeatedly pepper-spraying her Uber driver, Shohel Mahmud. The assault took place in August on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, near the corner of east 65th Street and Lexington Avenue, shortly after Mahmud began reciting a prayer in Arabic.

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Guilbeault’s former employer, the public relations and marketing firm D Pagan Communications, wrote on X it is aware of her actions and “don’t condone this behavior”.

  • Lem Jukes@lemm.eeEnglish
    1719·
    21 days ago

    Why are yall downvoting a question? Fr there’s no indication this was asked in bad faith. Are yall just morons?

    • Snapz@lemmy.world
      142·
      21 days ago

      Yeah, sort of borderline “begs the question” here… A good indicator of sincerity in asking would be if OP of that question stuck around and actually engaged and thanked people that gave good answers - AFAIK they have not.

      So again, borderline.

      • explodicle@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        72·
        21 days ago

        Sometimes I’ll ask a sincere question worded in a way that I didn’t realize implied anything, and get downvoted to hell. If anybody answers I’ll upvote, but I rarely want to stick around to explain why I don’t kick puppies or whatever.

    • stoly@lemmy.world
      185·
      21 days ago

      There are people asking questions and there are people “asking questions” in an attempt to derail debate.

      • NeilBru@lemmy.world
        4·
        21 days ago

        Honest question: what is up for debate regarding the case? I think all the facts are clear, no?

        • stoly@lemmy.world
          81·
          21 days ago

          That’s correct, which is where my comments comes from. They aren’t curious about the definition of a hate crime, they are trying to insert doubt while feigning ignorance.

          • NeilBru@lemmy.world
            32·
            21 days ago

            Again, with sincerity: did the woman who perpetrated the assault or her attorney give any public statement re: her motive? I saw in the video linked to the article said that the attorney, when asked by this reporter, had no comment. Was there anything ever released or documented about why she snapped?

            What I’m getting at is did she attack him for being a man, a muslim, or a muslim and a man?

            Furthermore, it’s not clear to me if she’s being charged with “vanilla” assault and battery or if there’s a hate crime charge on top of it. This may be my own fault for reading too quickly.

            Nevermind that. I re-read the aricle.

            Guilbeault was officially charged in a state supreme court indictment “with one count each of Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, Assault in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime and Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree”.