By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) – A Chicago-area man was charged Friday with two felony hate crime counts for berating a woman wearing a t-shirt of the Puerto Rican flag.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed to Anadolu Agency that Timothy Trybus, 62, was charged in relation to the June 14 incident.
A video recording of the confrontation that went viral appears to show Trybus loudly chiding a woman about the shirt, telling her she does not belong in the United States.
Puerto Rico, however, is a U.S. territory whose citizens are American citizens.
A police officer who was present during the encounter, but did not stop the tirade, has resigned.
Mia Irizarry, the victim, repeatedly asked Officer Patrick Connor to intervene, but he did not.
Trybus will next appear in court Aug. 1, according to the Cook Country Stat's Attorney's Office.
The incident is part of a growing trend in hate crimes since President Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election.
Some of the incidents have resulted in people of color having police called on them while performing ordinary tasks, such as swimming at a community pool. One particularly egregious case transpired when a white woman called the police on an 8-year-old black girl for selling lemonade on the street.
Police have used some of the incidents as teaching moments for those who called them in.
