Sikh brutally attacked, called 'Bin Laden' - not a hate crime

September 13, 2015

NEW YORK: Terming the incident as a "road rage" case, US authorities have not brought hate crime charges against a teenager who brutally attacked a 53-year-old Sikh- American man, sparking outrage among community members.

Inderjit Singh Mukker was called a "terrorist" and "Bin Laden" by the assailant in what is being described as a hate crime on September 8 in Chicago's Darien suburb.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin announced that aggravated battery charges have been filed against the Willowbrook teen, terming the incident as a "road rage."

The juvenile petition alleges five counts of felony aggravated battery.

"What happened to me on Tuesday night is the definition of hate," Mukker said, as he expressed strong disappointment at the decision, saying he is "appalled and disgusted."

Advocacy group the Sikh Coalition said "despite clear hate crime evidence" and verbal indications by the Darien Police Department throughout the week that the assailant was going to be charged with a hate crime, the offender will be tried in juvenile court.

"This disappointing decision directly contradicts Illinois hate crimes law...," the group said.

The Sikh Coalition's Legal Director Harsimran Kaur said the problem of hate in the nation cannot be addressed "if you refuse to acknowledge its existence."

"This announcement is shocking and a completely unacceptable decision by the DuPage County prosecutor. If Illinois is going to drop the ball, then we demand that the US Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the US Attorney's Office prosecute the offender under federal hate crime law immediately," Kaur said.

"In fact, in my many years of representing hate crime victims, the hate crimes charge is as clear and as obvious as it gets. To ignore the racial element of the crime sends a clear message that State's Attorney Robert Berlin is not interested in protecting vulnerable communities."

The defendant had punched Mukker in the face, leaving him with severe facial injuries.

When approached by police, the defendant resisted arrest and punched a police officer in the face, DuPage County said.

"The allegations against this defendant are very serious.

Regardless of what was said or done by either of the parties allegedly involved in this incident, physical attacks will not be tolerated and will be met with the full force of the law.

People have to remember that if you find yourself involved in a traffic altercation, stay calm and don't let your emotions get the better of you," Berlin said.

A future court date has not yet been set for the defendant.

Police say "nothing about this is illegal" a day after a hate crime like this happens.

comparison

Md. man arrested for threat to ‘kill all white people'

http://m.nydailynews.com/news/national/md-man-arrested-threat-kill-white-people-article-1.2347947

BAKERSFIELD, CA (KBAK/Twitter/CNN) - A California teenager has caused debate in his community after a tweet he sent out on 9/11.

The tweet he sent out Thursday night read: "gonna go kill some towel head as tomorrow in honor of 9/11, who's with me?"

Now the teen’s Twitter account is deleted, but stuff like this never truly goes away.

A Muslim resident, Mohamad Wehbe, said: "This is very sad. This is very sad. You know why? God created us. We are all the same. We have two eyes, two hands, two legs."

Now the case is under investigation, and the teen will probably be fine.

Sgt. Joe Grubbs of the Bakersfield Police Department said he saw no reason for prosecution.

"Nothing about that is illegal,” Grubbs said. “He's well within his First Amendment rights to say something like that."

Grubbs said that even though the tweet was insensitive, there has to be a specific individual victim for it to be a hate crime or a threat.

"From this tweet, I don't think there's really anything to be scared about," Grubbs said.

Emad Meerza Amir, a Muslim in Bakersfield commented. "I really think that it's important that we have a better-defined line, because some of us are confused," he said.

The boy behind the tweet is a high school graduate. His mom says he does not intend to apologize for it.

"He needs to go back to Twitter and apologize to say that he did not mean to say it,” Wehbe said. “It was a mistake. I will forgive him anyway."

Muslim leaders say that even if the teen is not willing to apologize, they think the way to solve the problem is to start a dialogue.

They have invited him and his family to have an open conversation.

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