A Florida man who pleaded guilty to a hate-motivated attack on a Muslim U.S. Postal Service carrier was sentenced Friday to three years in federal prison.
Kenneth Pinkney, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced to serve 37 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement.
“No one should live in fear of being targeted because of their religious beliefs,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Davis said in the U.S. attorney’s office statement. “Everyone, including federal employees, has the right to perform their duties safely.
Pinkney’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening. The victim was not identified.
Prosecutors said Pinkney exhibited aggressive behavior toward the carrier while she was delivering mail in Broward County on Oct. 9, 2023, two days after Hamas militants’ incursion into Israel, a day that would trigger war and revive religious divisions. and ethnic groups around the world. .
The carrier, identified only as a 47-year-old woman of Muslim faith, took note, prosecutors and investigators said in the criminal complaint filed against Pinkney.
On October 24, when the uniformed woman was about 2 1/2 hours into her due date and near her USPS delivery truck, Pinkney approached her while riding her bike and made a hand gesture that indicated a gun was pointed. for her, according to for the complaint.
At first, the woman said, she thought the man needed something and asked if she could help, according to the complaint, which was bolstered by testimony from an FBI special agent.
The man stopped and repeatedly told her she should leave the country before tapping two fingers on the back of her head in a gun gesture, the complaint alleged. “Go back to your country,” the defendant told the carrier, according to the U.S. attorney’s statement Friday.
She got into the truck, where Pinkney grabbed her neck and, after much struggle, took off her hijab, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
The woman managed to get out of the vehicle, where the fight continued, according to prosecutors. Pinkney allegedly hit the woman several times, and she grabbed his shirt and ripped off an item that prosecutors later said matched the defendant’s clothing.
When the woman was able to establish some distance, she told the defendant she was calling 911, and the defendant said he was too, according to the criminal complaint. He waited a few minutes for authorities to arrive, but left before they did, according to the document.
His call helped authorities locate him, the document said.
Prosecutors alleged that during the attack Pinkney also spat at the victim, called him a “terrorist” and made anti-Muslim comments. The woman was treated for pain and scratches on her face, the report stated.
“The FBI is unwavering in our efforts to protect those who are targeted based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability status,” said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Field Office. FBI in Miami, Jeffrey B. Veltri. in a statement. “We will continue to bring to justice those who commit hate crimes.
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