Woman allegedly targets man in ‘Palestine’ sweatshirt at Panera, charged with hate crime

(CHICAGO) — A woman has been accused of a hate crime after she allegedly targeted a man wearing a “Palestine” sweatshirt at an Illinois Panera Bread, authorities said.

Alexandra Szustakiewicz, 64, was at a Panera in Downers Grove, a Chicago suburb, around noon on Saturday when she saw a man wearing a sweatshirt that said “Palestine” on it, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said. She allegedly confronted him and started yelling expletives, prosecutors said.

When a woman who was with the man started taking video of the confrontation, Szustakiewicz allegedly tried to hit the phone out of the woman’s hand, prosecutors said.

Szustakiewicz, a Darien resident, was taken into custody the next day and is accused of committing “a hate crime by reason of perceived national origin,” prosecutors said.

“This type of behavior is not and will never be tolerated in our community,” Downers Grove Chief of Police Michael DeVries said in a statement.

Downers Grove is about 23 miles west of Chicago.

“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 added.

Szustakiewicz made her first court appearance on Monday on two counts of hate crime and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, authorities said.

She is next due in court on Dec. 16.

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