A 43-year-old woman has been charged with a Mountain View hate crime and assault after attacking a teenage girl wearing a hijab and calling the young woman a "terrorist."
The unprovoked attack by Atoosa Biglari - a bystander - occurred in broad daylight in downtown Mountain View, Santa Clara County, where two women, who witnessed the assault, rushed to the victim's aid.
Police arrested Biglari, who fled the scene on a bicycle. On Tuesday afternoon, the attacker will be arraigned in Department 85 of the Palo Alto Courthouse. She faces more than a year in county jail if convicted on all three charges against her.
"We have no tolerance for those whose intolerance crosses the line into criminality and violence," said prosecutor Jeff Rosen. "Hate has no place in Santa Clara County. We also commend the bravery of the two women who quickly stepped forward to help the victim. They are wonderful examples of the national anti-hate campaign's motto: 'if you see something, say something'."
The act of hate occurred last July 1, shortly after 3:00 p.m. police were dispatched to Castro and Mercy streets, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office detailed in a statement.
He added that the 18-year-old victim was walking alone on Castro Street when Biglari crossed the street, yelled at her, accused her of "hacking" and then called her a "terrorist," after which the attacker began to pull the victim's hijab and then pushed her against the wall and put her hands on her neck.
The victim called for help and the two women who witnessed the attack corroborated the victim's account, stating that they saw Biglari on the road.
Biglari also faces charges of brandishing a deadly weapon in a rude, angry and threatening manner, stemming from an earlier incident on June 24, 2022, in which he threatened another woman with a pair of scissors.
This publication was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library.
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