Criminologists: Man threatening Muslim family in May could’ve been charged then

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The State Attorney’s Office is reviewing a case where a man is seen on camera threatening a Muslim family after it was submitted by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident happened in May. The family’s attorney’s said they’ve been asking for charges since then.

The man in the video is heard screaming “Get the (expletive) out of my country” and “I’ll (expletive) kill you.” News Channel 8 is not identifying the man because he has not been charged.

The Muslim family, who asked not to be identified out of fear for their safety, thought it would be easy to charge the man.

“They are wondering what is happening, that what is supposed to be a simple case,” said Wilfredo Ruiz, the outreach director for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

CAIR represents the family.

They said they reached out to the department, and the sheriff’s office confirms an attorney reached out to them in July. Now the case has been assigned to an assistant state attorney and is under review.

“It was probably not a high priority case, you know, until it became, you know, known to the media,” criminologist Alex Del Carmen said. “This particular individual could have been charged with assault, essentially, if someone verbally threatens another person in a way that creates a well-founded fear of having imminent violence, which in this case, this person clearly does. The other one would have been disorderly conduct where the verbal threats are not specific.”

In the report, the Muslim family asked detectives if they said they were going to blow up a building, would that fall under free speech. The detective strongly suggested it was not a good idea to do so.

“The point is made by the family, right? Which is, look, the law has and should have no regard for race, you know, individuals’ heritage, religious affiliation or whatnot. So if anyone makes a threat, it should be taken seriously,” Del Carmen said.

The criminologist said there is no hate crime here, and prosecutors are looking for charges that will stick.

“The hate crime law is very specific, you know, in the sense that it would have had to have other components attached to it that would have been more specific and would have actually resulted in some degree of action towards the family,” Del Carmen said.

The family’s attorneys said the community should also be concerned with what the responding officer told the family, which is also on video.

“Is this how the law enforcement agencies are going to protect our Muslim families?” Ruiz said.

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