Murdering A Muslim
Murdering A Muslim – Former solider Dustin Passarelli has been sentenced to 55 years in prison after he shot 32 year old Afghan-American Mustafa Ayoubi at the side of a road after yelling racist remarks at him, including “Go back home!”
Witnesses say that Passarelli followed Ayoubi off the main Interstate 465 before getting into an argument, consisting mostly of him hurling racist and Islamophobic slurs at the man, before he started firing, hitting Ayoubi 8 times, one in the shoulder and seven in the back.
This incident took place during debate over new hate crime legislation in Indiana, and a watered down version of the bill was eventually passed with a “bias crime” law. Passarelli, however, was not charged with a hate crime, or in a federal court.
He claimed that he shot the Muslim man in self defence after Ayoubi tried taking a swing at his car windows, and said that he had PTSD from his military service. However, no evidence was found of any damage to his car, and the jury ultimately found him guilty.
Ayoubi’s sister Zahra says she is content with the justice that was given to Passarelli. She took to Twitter to describe her brother:
“A soul so bright, cut short by hate, in the depths of night. He was more than a victim, he was a flame, he stood and put hate to shame.”
