Crime & Safety

Queens Duo Charged With Hate Crime For Williamsburg Attack: NYPD

A Queens duo faces hate crime charges for attacking a group of Hasidic men and ripping off their face masks, police and news reports say.

QUEENS, NY — A duo from Jackson Heights was arrested on hate crime charges after attacking three Hasidic men in Williamsburg and ripping off their face masks, according to police and news reports.

Celia Pinho, 46, and Paulo Pinho, 35, were driving around Williamsburg Sunday evening when they spotted a crowd of Hasidic Jews and got out of the car, hurling anti-Semitic slurs, the New York Post reported.

"You’re the reason why we’re getting sick," they yelled, then pulled the masks off three mens' faces and started throwing punches, according to the Post and Gothamist.

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Police charged the couple with aggravated harassment as a hate crime.


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