A
Massachusetts man is accused of attacking a Muslim airline employee at New
York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, allegedly kicking and shouting
obscenities at the woman and telling her that President Donald Trump "will
get rid of all of you," authorities said.
The Queens District Attorney's Office said
Robin Rhodes, of Worcester, had arrived from Aruba and was awaiting a
connecting flight to Massachusetts Wednesday night when he approached Delta
employee Rabeeya Khan, who wears a hijab, while she was sitting in her office.
Queens
District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Rhodes came up to the door and went on
a profanity-laced tirade, asking the woman if she was praying. Rhodes then
allegedly punched the door, which hit the back of Khan's chair. Khan asked
Rhodes what she had done to him and Rhodes replied, "You did
nothing." He then cursed at her and kicked her in the leg, Brown said.
When another person tried to calm him down,
Brown said Rhodes moved away from the door and Khan ran out of the office.
Rhodes followed her, got down on his knees and began to bow down in imitation
of a Muslim praying, shouted obscenities and said "Trump is here now. He
will get rid of all of you. You can ask Germany, Belgium and France about these
kind of people. You see what happens," Brown said.
At the time
of his arrest, Rhodes allegedly told police, "I guess I am going to jail
for disorderly conduct. I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman because their
back was to me and they had something covering their head."
Rhodes was charged with assault, unlawful
imprisonment, menacing and harassment as hate crimes. It was not immediately
clear if he has an attorney who can comment on the charges.
"The bigotry and hatred that the
defendant is accused of manifesting and acting upon have no place in a
civilized society — especially in Queens County, the most culturally diverse
county in the nation," Brown said. "Crimes of hate will never be
tolerated here and when they do, regrettably occur, those responsible will be
brought to justice."
FOXNEWS
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