They are calling it a hate crime. A Michigan man was charged earlier last month with ethnic intimidation and assault & battery after he attempted to pull off the veil worn by a Muslin woman as she exited a local shopping plaza.

According to reports, 29-year-old Jonathan Patrick Deuel and some friends approached the woman and her 5-year-old daughter in the parking lot of the Meridian Township mall and proceeded to harass them. It was here that Deuel tried to remove the woman’s veil, which is traditionally worn in public.

The gang of hoodlums knocked the woman down on the pavement while shouting racial obscenities at her. Luckily, the woman’s husband heard her screaming and came to the rescue. However, all the assailants managed to get away.

The woman was taken to a nearby hospital where she spent 36 hours recovering from heart attack symptoms, including chest pains and numbness in her left arm.

Authorities managed to track down Deuel, who is now facing up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. He will be the only person prosecuted in this matter. "I don't foresee any other charges coming out of this," said Officer Greg Frenger. "There were other people present but only one person committed a crime."

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