Denise Slader, an employee of California's Department of Corrections, faces a hate crime charge after an incident at a state park in which she allegedly struck a Muslim man with an umbrella and then threw coffee on him. A video posted on the Bay area victim's Facebook page shows the incident.
Rasheed Albeshari, 31, said he was playing volleyball and praying at the park on Sunday, December 3, 2015, when Slader approached.
"After praying, this lady approached us and started yelling at us that we're brainwashed for believing in Allah," Albeshari wrote on his Facebook page. "'Allah is evil she said. I started video taping her. I also was hit by an umbrella before taking a shower of coffee right on my face. And what happened next was this."
One of his friends began recording the encounter with a cell phone just as a park ranger tried to mediate.
#Islamophobia After praying, this lady approached us and started yelling at us that we're brainwashed for believing in Allah, "Allah is evil" she said. I started video taping her, I ,also, was hit by an umbrella before taking a shower of coffee right on my face. And what happened next was this..
Posted by Rasheed Albeshari on Monday, December 7, 2015
The Alameda County, California, district attorney filed hate crime charges against Slader and the corrections department is investigating to decide if it should take action against their employee.
Albeshari, whose parents are from Yemen, was born in Tennessee. He told the Sacramento Bee newspaper that he had never encountered any form of racism, including based on his religion, before this month's incident. "It's just overwhelming," he said. "I think that's what makes this nation great: tolerance and acceptance."
