Illinois woman charged with hate crime after assaulting man wearing 'Palestine' shirt

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - An Illinois woman has been charged following an alleged altercation at a restaurant involving a man wearing a sweatshirt with "Palestine" written on it, authorities said Monday.

Alexandra Szustakiewicz of Darien, Illinois, was charged with two felony counts of a hate crime and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct stemming from the Saturday incident at a Panera Bread restaurant in Downers Grove, a Chicago suburb, according to a statement by DuPage County authorities.

According to the statement citing the investigation, the 64-year-old woman allegedly confronted a man wearing a "Palestine" sweatshirt, yelled expletives, and attempted to knock a phone out of a woman’s hands as she recorded the incident.

Following an investigation, Szustakiewicz was charged with committing a hate crime based on perceived national origin and taken into custody the next day without incident, the statement added.

"Every member of society, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other individual characteristic, deserves to be treated with respect and civility," DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "This type of behavior and the accompanying prejudice have no place in a civilized society."

Szustakiewicz is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 16 for arraignment.

The incident occurred amid rising reports of targeted actions against Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Americans over the past year since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023.

One such case involved the brutal murder of 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadea Al-Fayoume, who was stabbed 26 times at his Plainfield, Illinois home on Oct. 14 last year. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, 32, was also attacked but survived.

Authorities arrested the family’s landlord, Joseph Czuba, 71, charging him with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and two hate crimes. Czuba has pleaded not guilty.