Manhattan woman indicted for allegedly pepper-spraying Muslim Uber driver

A woman named Jennifer Guilbeault, who attacked a Muslim man Shohel Mahmud "without provocation" after he began to pray in Arabic while stopping at a traffic light, was indicted for "hate crime" but pleaded not guilty in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan. 

Mahmud appeared to have no obvious reason to have any worries when he arrived to pick up two young women who had ordered an Uber around midnight on July 31, The New York Times reported

On the West Side of Manhattan, after the two women got into his car, the victim confirmed that one of them was Jennifer Guilbeault, the person who had ordered the ride. He then drove off towards the two East Side stops that the women had chosen.

Moreover, Mahmud said that the ride was unremarkable as the car travelled uptown and across Central Park.

Notably, the women chatted and looked at their phones, he said, adding that the passengers had no conversation with him as well.

“They were talking and chilling,” the Uber driver said. "Why would I interrupt?"

Mahmud and the prosecutors said that when he stopped at a traffic light at 65th Street and Lexington Avenue, the mood changed.

Guilbeault allegedly lunged at Mahmud, grabbed him and doused his face with pepper spray after he began to pray quietly in Arabic while waiting for the light to turn green.

A few moments later, Guilbeault was standing outside the car. Her friend  asked why she had done this. 

“He’s brown,” Guilbeault replied, as per a police officer’s statement in a court document that cites surveillance footage.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin L Bragg said that Guilbeault, 23, had been indicted on several counts, including second and third degree assault as a hate crime.

A spokeswoman for Bragg said that the conviction on second-degree assault as a hate crime could yield a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

"The victim is a hardworking New Yorker who should not have to face this type of hate because of his identity,” Bragg said in a statement. “Everyone is welcome to live and work in Manhattan.”

However, Guilbeault, who is a Manhattan resident, pleaded not guilty in the court on Monday. It is important to note that she was released and is scheduled to return to court in January.

Mahmud said that when the attack began he briefly thought his passengers might have been trying to hijack the car.

“I totally freaked out,” he said.

He said that he tried to get out of the car, however, quickly realised that he was still belted in and that the car, still in drive, was starting to drift into traffic. As a result, he climbed back in to put the car into park.

As per the report, Mahmud’s shoulder, neck and back were injured in the assault, and the vision in his right eye was impaired for a time