A man who allegedly harassed a Muslim woman, grabbed her phone, and snatched her hijab off her head was charged with a hate crime on Wednesday.
According to police, the 22-year-old woman was driving on Avenue C near Ocean Parkway in Kensington on November 14th when the man, 40-year-old Michail Isakharaov, yelled "Muslims aren't supposed to be driving!" at her from his car and blocked her vehicle.
When the woman took a picture of Isakharaov, he allegedly got out of his car and grabbed her phone. Police said said Isakharaov then threw the victim's phone to the ground and snatched her hijab off her head before driving away in a black Nissan Pathfinder.
The Post reports that Isakharov lives in Sheepshead Bay and is originally from Uzbekistan.
Isakharaov was arrested on Wednesday, December 7th and charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime and third- and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
Hate crimes are on the rise both nationally and in New York City this year. As of November 13th, there have been 328 hate crimes reported citywide, including 25 alleged hate crimes against Muslims. There have been at least three additional hate crimes against Muslim women since then, including one against an off-duty NYPD officer and another against an MTA employee. There have also been increased reports of racist and anti-Semitic vandalism popping up around the city.
