“What are these illegal immigrants doing here? I hate immigrant people,” yelled David Caputo according to prosecutors.
The diminutive man had a machete when he threatened to kill and man on a Sunset Park street in June.
On December 6, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun refused prosecutors’ request to boost Caputo’s bail to $10,000.
Caputo pleaded not guilty and allowed to walk on his own recognizance. If Caputo is convicted, he is looking at a maximum of four years in prison.
Caputo isn’t the only American right-wing terrorist — just the latest.
Majority Of Hate Crimes Committed By White, American Males
Since 9/11 the majority — by far — of domestic terrorism incidents were carried out by right-wing, American perpetrators. A study by The Center for Investigative Reporting shows right-wing terrorists responsible for twice as many events as Islamist terrorists in America since the World Trade Center attacked sixteen years ago.
The latest instance of right wing-anti-Islamist terrorism happened in Men preparing for morning prayers. The bomb which went through the mosque’s imam’s office window damaged the office, but no one was injured. Police are handling the case as a hate crime and have looked to the FBI to help in the investigation.
The mosque, which serves the large Somali community in Bloomington, Minnesota, is a center for religious and activist leaders in the region. One worshipper at the mosque found the experience “unimaginable”.
“We came to this country for the same reason everyone else did. Freedom to worship,” said Yasir Abdalrahman. “That freedom is under threat.”
Seeking to stem the tide of hate crime in America, New York state is taking steps.
Laws Tighten After Charlottesville
New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo waited until convulsive demonstrations by white nationalists in Charlottesville, VA to call for expanded hate crime laws in The Empire State.
Cuomo’s proposal would add provoking riots and uprisings targeting shielded groups of people to the offenses prosecutable under New York’s current hate crimes law.
New York’s existing hate crimes legislation calls for a person to be prosecuted for a hate crime for attacks that prey on victims based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation.
“The Charlottesville Provisions” as Cuomo calls the proposal, adds including a riot which targets those groups.
“The ugly events in Charlottesville must not be replicated in New York,” Cuomo’s office said in a statement. “This legislation will protect New Yorkers and send a signal that violent discrimination has no place in our society.”
The proposals won’t be reviewed until 2018. New York’s assembly is out of session and won’t return until January.
Americans who have not been blinded by the hateful rhetoric coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, as well as people who remain faithful to the values of religious freedom, are insulted by misguided and reprehensible attacks.
