NEW YORK // A US businessman is facing a slew of charges after he attacked a Muslim airline employee at John F Kennedy Airport, kicking her, shouting obscenities at her and saying that president Donald Trump “will get rid of all of you”.
The Queens district attorney said Robin Rhodes, 57, had arrived from Aruba and was waiting for a connecting flight to Massachusetts on Wednesday night when he approached Delta employee Rabeeya Khan while she was sitting in her office.
Ms Khan, who wears a hijab, told police that Mr Rhodes came to the door and went on a profanity-laced tirade, asking her if she was praying, district attorney Richard Brown said.
Mr Rhodes then punched the door, which hit the back of Ms Khan’s chair, investigators said.
Ms Khan asked Mr Rhodes what she had done to him and he replied, “you did nothing”, Mr Brown said.
He then cursed at her and kicked her in the leg, Ms Khan told police.
When another person tried to calm him down, Mr Rhodes moved away from the door and Ms Khan ran out of the office, Mr Brown said.
Mr Rhodes followed her, got down on his knees and began to bow down to imitate Muslim prayers and shouted obscenities.
Mr Brown said Ms Kahn recalled the businessman saying: “Trump is here now. He will get rid of all of you. You can ask Germany, Belgium and France about these kinds of people. You see what happens.”
At the time of his arrest, Mr Rhodes told officers, “I guess I am going to jail for disorderly conduct,” Mr Brown said.
He was charged with assault, unlawful imprisonment, menacing and harassment as hate crimes and faces up to four years in jail.
Mr Brown said he displayed bigotry and hatred that “have no place in a civilised society – especially in Queens County, the most culturally diverse county in the nation”.
Mr Rhodes is the president of Nitrofreeze Cryogenic Solutions, a metals company based in Worcester, Massachusetts,.
His mother, Dorothy Rhodes, said the behaviour described by authorities was uncharacteristic of her son.
“It’s not like him at all,” she said. “He’s not a violent person. He’s very kind.”
She said her son “goes out of his way to hire people of different races and ethnicities”.
* Associated Press
