A woman was arrested and charged with multiple hate crimes after she threw hot coffee and her phone at an Indian man and his 18-month-old son
After being filmed throwing hot coffee and her phone at a man of Indian descent and his 18-month-old son, Hadasa Bozakkaravani has been arrested and charged with nine counts, including four hate crimes: assault, assault of a person under 11, reckless endangerment, and aggravated harassment and menacing, according to NBC News.
The incident happened on Nov. 7 at a park in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The victims, Ashish Prashar and his son, were playing when Bozakkaravani allegedly approached them and asked if Prashar supported Hamas.
Prashar, a political strategist, activist, and writer, was wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh that was given to him by a Christian-Palestinian more than a decade ago when he worked in the West Bank under then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, per NBC New York.
“The woman approached me, screaming and shouting, calling us terrorists, dogs, and said we are part of H@mas. She said that we don’t belong here and that we should leave the park. She went on to say that ‘your people burn babies and I hope your baby burns in an oven’” Prashar shared on Instagram. He says he was targeted because of his scarf and the color of his skin.
“This woman is willing to attack a child, a child on a playground, and the police left our community vulnerable,” Prashar said. “How many kids of multiracial backgrounds are there in Brooklyn? She might see them… she could attack them, too.”
Prashar credits the community and a group of aunties for Bozakkaravani’s arrest. “The community has driven her to surrender herself,” Prashar told Cefaan Kim of ABC7NY. “[Some aunties], people who put themselves out there to take care of my son right now, they designed the posters that you see on every street corner.”
👏 Now THAT is what community looks like.
Bozakkaravani plead not guilty and was released on her own recognizance. She is due back in court on 1/24/24.
