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”.
Did he just randomly start chanting and she freaked out? Why didn’t the just start praying during a fare?
Praying is not chanting. Somehow I doubt a Catholic saying a hail Mary would have ellicited the same response. It appears the DA agrees.
As to what happened, he was driving the car with the two passengers in the back seat. The driver and passengers were not talking to each other, or otherwise interacting. Video linked in the article shows her suddenly lunging towards him and spraying him in the face with pepper spray at point blank range.
Her friend tries to pull her off of him. He then tries to get out of the car, while she keeps spraying him, where he calls 911 and she’s arrested.
Wait… your description doesn’t include any praying either. Did he pray or not? It just looks like an attack.
It would make me uncomfortable if someone just started audibly praying while driving me though. Given the tone I might even take it as a threat on my life, if I felt like it was some “last rights” or “give me strength” shit that made me feel like they were about to off themselves with me in the car.
The solution would absolutely not be to pepper spray the driver though. That can only make my fears a reality.
Given the tone I might even take it as a threat on my life
That is an unhinged and deranged level of xenophobia.
He apprently was praying when she attacked him. Being Muslim, he needs to pray several times a day to stay devout. It’s likely he was reciting one of those prayers.
It looks clear that he was speaking in Arabic and she took that to mean that he should be viciously attacked. It’s unlikely she knew it was a prayer, so your religious fears above likely dont apply.
Wait… your description doesn’t include any praying either. Did he pray or not? It just looks like an attack.
Are you actually trying to argue that praying is justification for pepper spraying someone?
It would make me uncomfortable if someone just started audibly praying while driving me though. Given the tone I might even take it as a threat on my life, if I felt like it was some “last rights” or “give me strength” shit that made me feel like they were about to off themselves with me in the car.
What a completely unhinged fantasy world you live in where everyone who prays is out to kill you. What a hateful person you are.
I guess I’d be irritated if I had to listen to prayer for my ride, but I think my worst reaction would be retracting a star or two.
I’m glad she’s been indicted for a hate crime, but will Uber compensate the driver in any way? Of course not. He’s not an employee!
And if you click through to the surveillance video article, you see this:
Mahmud acknowledged the ordeal has hurt him financially, as he is the breadwinner of his family who currently lives in Bangladesh.
She was obviously just protecting herself from a terrorist. /s
Yayyyy.
🤔 about the second part.
