LI man charged with hate crime for crashing vehicle into car of Muslim men in islamophobic road rage incident

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — A Long Island man was arraigned on Wednesday for hate crime charges after he allegedly told a group of visibly Muslim men that he wanted to kill all Muslims and then drove into their car last month.

Brendan Marchetti, 35, was arrested for criminal mischief as a hate crime, reckless endangerment as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime. All three charges are in the second degree and two are felonies, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

The investigation showed that on the morning of June 17, four Muslim men dressed in traditional Muslim attire were in a car driving to a mosque.

When the car came to a stop at a red light in Huntington, they were stopped next to Marchetti in his vehicle.

Prosecutors said that Marchetti is accused of, in sum and substance, telling the men that he wanted to kill all Muslims, all Muslims should die and he wanted to blow them up.

After leveling the threats, he is accused of driving into the side of their car, causing damage exceeding $1,500.

The victims tried to flee, and prosecutors said that Marchetti tried to strike their car again.

Fearing for their lives, the victims called 911 and reported Marchetti’s license plate to police. Officers later found Marchetti’s vehicle at an auto body shop and took him to a hospital for mental health treatment.

“Prosecuting hate crimes is essential to not only protect victims but to also uphold the values of tolerance and respect, especially for other people’s religions,” District Attorney Ray Tierney said. “It is unconscionable that my prosecutors cannot ask for bail on cases such as this due to ‘Bail Reform,’ especially where such violence is alleged.”

Due to bail reform legislation passed in New York State, the charges against Marchetti are non-bail eligible. Thus, prosecutors asked that Marchetti be placed on supervised release with GPS monitoring and mental health conditions, which were granted.

“Hate in any form has no place in Suffolk County, and those who perpetrate such acts will face the full force of the law,” Tierney said.

Marchetti is being represented by the Legal Aid Society and will return to court on July 24.