Suburban Chicago resident Valerie Kenney has pled guilty to misdemeanor battery for tugging on the traditional Muslim head scarf - or hijab - of Amal Abusumayah at their local grocery store.
Prosecutors had filed felony hate-crime charges, which were dropped after Kenney's plea.
Kenney made loud and angry references to the fact that the alleged shooter who killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas in November was from the Middle East - apparently so loud that the visibly Muslim Abusumayah could hear.
That's downright rude but what she did next straddled the line between battery and a hate-crime.
Kenney walked up behind Abusumayah and tugged at her hijab, then walked out of the store without saying anything else.
Abusumayah, who was born in the United States (not that it should matter, but it's worth noting), followed Kenney to her car and called police.
Putting two and two together, it's pretty clear that the tug was motivated by hatred of Middle Easterners, or at least Muslims whom Kenney perceives to be from the Middle East. That's why prosecutors charged her with a hate crime.
Her plea bargain lessens the charge to misdemeanor battery.
Battery is defined as "an unwanted touching." So despite the fact that Abusumayah wasn't physically injured, she was touched in a demeaning way without her consent.
And according to news reports, Abusumayah is satisfied with the guilty plea. Kenney's Chicago criminal defense attorney declined to comment to the press.
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Battery Basics (FindLaw)
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Hate Crime: The Violence of Intolerance (FindLaw)
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Plea Bargains (FindLaw)
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