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The Justice Department said the incident occurred at the end of
March, without giving further details. It identified the suspect
as Melvin P. Litteral III and the victim only by his initials,
O.S.
The indictment also included a weapons charge. Litteral could
not immediately be contacted.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Human rights advocates have noted a rise in Islamophobia,
anti-Palestinian bias and antisemitism in the U.S. since the
start of Israel's war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands
and caused a humanitarian crisis.
The Council on American Islamic Relations advocacy group
welcomed the indictment. CAIR says complaints of anti-Muslim
U.S. incidents totaled 8,061 in 2023, the highest since it began
records nearly 30 years ago.
KEY QUOTE
"Melvin P. Litteral III used force or the threat of force to
intimidate and interfere with the victim – a Palestinian
American man and practicing Muslim identified in the indictment
by the initials O.S. – because of O.S.'s race, color, religion
and/or national origin, and because O.S. was enjoying the goods,
services and facilities of a local restaurant," the Justice
Department said.
CONTEXT
Other recent alarming U.S. incidents include the fatal October
stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child in Illinois,
the February stabbing of a Palestinian-American man in Texas,
the November shooting of three students of Palestinian descent
in Vermont and the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old
Palestinian-American girl in May.
A former Cornell University student pleaded guilty in April to
posting online threats, including of death and violence, against
Jewish students on campus. There have been allegations of
alarming antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric in some protests
and counterprotests over the war and the dire situation of
Palestinians in Gaza and the fate of Israeli hostages held
there.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Kat
Stafford and Bill Berkrot)
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