The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) today welcomed a hate crime charge brought against a woman who allegedly harassed a Middle Eastern man in Palo Alto.
Last Friday in Palo Alto, Sarah Ann Neal reportedly walked up to a Middle Eastern man in his 50s asking for money, hitting him with a laptop, and berating him.
It was reported the man told her he did not have money for her and she said, “you don’t belong in my country” and asked for his identification. A witness heard the woman cursing and calling him an immigrant.
She was arrested a few blocks down and charged with battery and hate crime.
SEE: Woman Charged with Hate Crime in Palo Alto Attack
In a statement, CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo said:
“We welcome the hate crime charges in this case and urge similar treatment in response to any anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, or other hate crimes. We hope it sends a message that all forms of bigotry are unwelcome and hate violence, in particular, will not be tolerated in the San Francisco Bay Area.”