Woman Facing Hate Crime Charges After Attack On Palestinian Couple Caught On Camera

A suburban Chicago woman has been charged with hate crimes for allegedly confronting a Palestinian man wearing a sweatshirt that read “Palestine” at a Panera restaurant and attempting to knock a cellphone out of his pregnant wife’s hands as she recorded the incident.

64-year-old Alexandra Szustakiewicz was arraigned Monday on two felony hate crime charges and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. A DuPage County judge ordered her to avoid contact with the victims and stay away from the restaurant where the confrontation reportedly took place on Saturday. Szustakiewicz is scheduled to appear in court again on December 16.

According to a news release issued Monday by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and Downers Grove police, Szustakiewicz was at a Panera Bread in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove on Saturday “when she confronted and yelled expletives at a man regarding a sweatshirt he was wearing with the word Palestine written on it.”

The release adds that she allegedly “attempted to hit a cell phone out of the hands of a woman who was with the man when the woman began videotaping the incident." The complaint against her alleges that she “committed a hate crime by reason of perceived national origin” of the two victims.

You can see a news report about the incident below.

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Waseem Zahran, the Palestinian man Szustakiewicz is accused of confronting, said he was wearing a hoodie with the word “Palestine” on it when she approached him, yelled expletives, and attempted to strike his pregnant wife, whom he shielded as she recorded the incident on her cellphone.

Speaking to reporters, Zahran shared that this was not the first time he had been harassed for wearing the sweatshirt and likely would not be the last. He said his family has long endured harassment and threats for being Palestinian.

Zahran explained that he tried to deescalate the situation several times, even as Szustakiewicz allegedly struck him in the face and attempted to throw hot coffee on his wife.

He recalled:

"[She] kinda whispered to us or said quietly, 'F Palestine.' And at first I didn't know what she said because of her accent, so I smiled at her and thought she was saying something nice to us. I said, 'Oh, what was that?' And she was far away and said it again and came closer to my face and kept repeating it."

"It could've easily been scripted that I was the one attacking her. Once I saw she was going to throw hot coffee on my wife, I had to stop it. So I grabbed the cup of coffee. She was still trying to force it up."

"So in the video you see me spilling it, so if she does throw it, it's not going to hurt us. ... As I'm spilling [the coffee] out, she goes for a punch and kind of hits me in the side of my face."

According to Zahran, Szustakiewicz swung at his wife multiple times and dismissed her condition, saying, "I don't care" that she is pregnant.

He added:

“Since I was a child, I’ve seen my mom threatened, parents screamed at, cousins yelled at. But it was a first for me to be attacked."

Many have condemned Szustakiewicz's actions.

Szustakiewicz left the scene following the incident but was arrested the next day. She was later released on bail and is prohibited from returning to the Panera Bread where the confrontation occurred. Authorities stated that their investigation included a review of footage from the restaurant’s security cameras.

In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Chicago condemned the incident, saying, in part, “This shameful and abusive behavior has to be understood and called out for what it is.”

Zahran said he has received many supportive messages and that "I love my country, America, and I love Palestine." He urged people to "be human" and "have a heart," adding that "just because people aren't your color or your country or your religion even, doesn't mean you can't feel for them."