'This is America' air traveler says guilty of yanking Muslim's scarf [View all]
Source: Reuters
'This is America' air traveler says guilty of yanking Muslim's scarf
By Eric M. Johnson
May 13, 2016
(Reuters) - A North Carolina man admitted on Friday that he ripped off a Muslim woman's head scarf during a flight to New Mexico last December after saying, "Take it off! This is America!"
Gill Payne, 37, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New Mexico to one count of using force to intentionally obstruct the woman from freely exercising her religious beliefs, prosecutors said.
"No matter one's faith, all Americans are entitled to peacefully exercise their religious beliefs free from discrimination and violence," said Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
An attorney for Payne said by e-mail: "Mr. Payne has taken responsibility for his actions and is sorry for them. He is ready to begin the healing process and move forward."
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/america-air-traveler-says-guilty-yanking-muslims-scarf-212458000.html?nhp=1
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Gil Payne [/center]
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