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The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida), the state\u2019s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, called on Monday for federal hate crime charges following the arrest of a suspect who allegedly opened fire on a vehicle in Miami Beach after he reportedly saw what he thought were \u201ctwo Palestinians\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mordechai Brafman, 27, was charged with two counts of attempted murder after reportedly making a U-turn to stop in front of their vehicle and shooting \u201c17 times, unprovoked, striking both victims.\u201d Police say that while he was in custody, Brafman said that \u201che saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.\u201d One of the victims was shot in the shoulder, while the other\u2019s arm was grazed by a bullet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to bring hate crime charges in this case based on the alleged perpetrator\u2019s statements to police that reportedly indicate an anti-Palestinian motive. It is the alleged shooter\u2019s reportedly bias-motivated actions, not the actual ethnicity of the victims, that should be the determining factor for charges in this disturbing case.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that earlier this month, CAIR-FL called for the\u00a0censure of Palm Bay City Councilman Chandler Langevin for his inflammatory and xenophobic anti-Muslim remarks, in which he claimed that Muslims \u201cdo not belong\u201d to the United States.<\/p>\n
Last year,\u00a0CAIR-FL called for the Florida legislature to censure state Rep. Randy Fine\u00a0after he posted an anti-Muslim tweet celebrating the murder of Turkish-American human rights activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and appeared to call for more killing.<\/p>\n
Ruiz noted that from January to June 2024, CAIR documented 4,951 incoming bias complaints nationwide, a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last year, CAIR\u2019s national office released its 2024 civil rights report, which revealed the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history. Titled \u201cFatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate,\u201d the report documented 8,061 complaints. Nearly half of all complaints received in 2023 were reported in the final three months of the year.\u00a0
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