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| James Tree |
TROY — A 53-year-old man allegedly attacked a 7-Eleven clerk and manager in Troy on Friday, May 1, hurling anti-Muslim insults on them, police said.
James Tree, Farmington Hills, threatened to kill the clerk while attempting to buy a pack of beer, according to police. The manager ordered Tree to leave the store, but the 53-year-old responded by punching him several times in the face and directing more insults toward.
The clerk ended up overpowering Tree and kicking him out of the store. The suspect was locked out of the store and fled after the police were called. However, officers found and arrested Tree at a near by gas stations.
The store manager sustained injuries in the head that did not require going to the hospital.
His alcohol level was .16 percent, twice the legal limit. Police say Tree continued to make derogatory anti-Muslim remarks after the arrest.
Tree was charged with two counts of ethnic intimidation and one count of assault and battery. His bond was set at $25,000, and he is due to appear in court on May 13.
The assault in Troy is a latest in a wave of attacks against Muslims around the country, including the execution-style murders of three young Muslims in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Fatina Abdrabboh, the executive director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Michigan, said the incident in Troy is a reflection of the broader issue of bigotry that vilifies on Arabs and Muslims in America.
“While the facts are still evolving, for us as a community, it is important to view this incident in a context of systemic hateful speech for which this incident is nothing more than the latest manifestation,” she said. “The attack attack at the 7-Eleven indicates the serious impact of racism, hate speech, and bigotry on the Muslim American and Arab American communities.”
Dawud Walid, The Michigan executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), expressed concerns about a backlash against Muslim Americans, including at the local level, after two extremist gunmen in Garlan, Texas, tried to attack a contest to draw insulting cartoons of the Prophet Mohamad on Sunday.
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