Woman who attacked dad charged with a hate crime
On November 21, 2023, Ashish Prasher, a 40-year-old Brooklyn-based political activist wrote on his X account (@ash_prasher): “Today the woman who attacked my 18-month-old and I surrendered to the NYPD. She is being charged with the following:
- Charges of assault – hate crime
- Reckless endangerment of a person – hate crime
- Aggravated harassment – hate crime”.
Two weeks earlier, while Prasher and his toddler son were playing at a public basketball court near their home in Brooklyn, they were accosted by a stranger with an accusation:
“…You support Hamas. They kill babies. Your baby should die. You are a terrorist…”
Astounded, Prasher, a brown-skinned Punjabi man of Indian origin, wondered what had brought on this hateful tirade. Realization struck. Loosely wrapped around his neck was the kaffiyeh, a Palestinian scarf, which he received as a gift during an earlier visit to Palestine. As political activists, Prasher and his wife, Mary Rinaldi, had been engaged in organizing support rallies for Palestine, and giving anti-war speeches since the Gaza war began.
Gaza conflict fuels hate crimes
This incident occurred approximately a month after the Israeli-Gaza war broke out. Convinced that they were mistaken for Palestinians and what he was experiencing was a hate-crime, Ash picked up his son and began recording the incident on his cell phone.
At this point the incident took on a dangerous turn. Enraged, his attacker, a female in her late 40s, hurled her phone at Prasher, narrowly missing his child. She then proceeded to throw her coffee cup at them, the hot liquid scalding Prasher on his neck. “I have a baby”, he shouted at her. At this juncture, his attacker turned and left with her own son.
The same day, Prasher filed a complaint with the Brooklyn police who escalated it to the Hate Crimes Task Force in Manhattan for investigation as a hate crime/ bias incident.
The couple also posted the video on their Instagram account which got over a million views, but with starkly undesired effects. While they were flooded with messages of support, there was also an outburst of vigilante justice where innocent people were misidentified as the attacker, trolled and threatened.
In two weeks, the real perpetrator turned herself over to the police. The case was, however, not tried as a hate crime, and the accused was released with an order of protection restraining her from any contact with Prasher and his son.
California Resources for victims of hate crimes
In California, according to the Department of Justice you may be a victim of a hate crime “if you have been targeted because of your actual or perceived: (1) disability, (2) gender, (3) nationality, (4) race or ethnicity, (5) religion, (6) sexual orientation, and (7) association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.”
If you are a hate crime victim, or believe someone you know to be:
- Contact your local law enforcement agency right away.
- If you’ve been injured, get medical attention without delay.
- Record or write down the exact words said, and any other facts about the incident.
- Save any evidence you can find, if possible wait at the scene of the incident till the police arrive.
- Get contact information for any witnesses or other victims.
It is important to note that California law prohibits law enforcement authorities from asking individuals, including those who are reporting hate crimes or are victims of potential crimes, about their immigration status, unless the information is necessary to certify the victim for a U visa (victim of crime visa) or T visa (victim of human trafficking visa).
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
Further resources:
California Department of Justice – Hate Crimes Brochure
California Attorney General’s Office Victims’ Services Unit – call (877) 433-9069 or visit www.oag.ca.gov/hatecrimes
U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Services, visit: www.justice.gov/crs
Read the full story of Ash Prasher’s ordeal in the Washington Post here.