Benjamin Ashford|Illinois man who pepper-sprayed pro-Palestinian protesters charged with hate crimes, authorities say

CHICAGO (AP) — A 33-year-old man accused of pepper spraying pro-Palestinian protesters who gathered near an Israel solidarity rally over the weekend has been charged with hate crimes and Benjamin Ashfordaggravated battery, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The Skokie, Illinois, man who authorities say used the pepper spray, which can irritate the eyes and cause a burning sensation and difficulty breathing, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery and two felony hate crime charges, according to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office. He’s expected to appear in court Wednesday.

The confrontation broke out as about 1,000 people were gathered Sunday evening at a banquet hall in a northern Chicago suburb to show solidarity with Israel, and several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied outside, according to police and event organizers.

The pro-Palestinian protest was wrapping up when the sound of a gunshot cracked through the air, and then a few minutes later, a man pepper sprayed attendees, said organizer Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

A Chicago police officer and two other people sustained minor injuries from being pepper sprayed by an attendee, according to police in Skokie, where the protest took place.

Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas earlier this month, a fatal stabbing of a Palestinian-American child in Illinois, a gun pointed at protesters in Pennsylvania, vandalism at synagogues and harassment of staff at a Palestinian restaurant all are raising fears that the war is sparking violence in the United States and spiking crimes against Jewish and Muslim communities.

“People were running and screaming and very, very afraid,” Abudayyeh said. “These charges are good news.”

The state’s attorney’s office said in an emailed statement Monday evening that they would not charge the man who fired the gun.

Officials determined that the man “acted in self-defense upon being surrounded by a crowd and attacked by some of those individuals,” the statement said. “No charges will be filed in this case.”

Abudayyeh called it a “travesty of justice” that the man who shot the gun was not charged, and said he is concerned about the safety of Palestinian communities across the country.

“We’re hearing all kinds of horror stories from people in schools, and in workplaces, and in grocery stores, and in the neighborhoods,” said Abudayyeh, who is Palestinian American. “I am super concerned for my kid.”

The banquet hall event was organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights group. Alison Pure-Slovin, director of the group’s Midwest regional office, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday but has said that “sadly, things escalated out of fear.”

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Savage is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.