Officials File Additional Charges Against Man Accused of Attacking a Muslim Lawmaker

A prosecutor added felony charges, including attempted sexual assault, Monday against a man accused of attacking Connecticut’s first Muslim state representative after a prayer service, but did not file hate crime allegations demanded by the lawmaker’s supporters.

The case of Andrey Desmond, 30, went before a judge in Hartford Superior Court, where supporters of state Rep. Maryam Khan, including local imams, also gathered.

“It continues to be a mystery to me why the state isn’t bringing bias crimes in this type of incident,” said Farhan Memon, chairman of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “Having this charged as a bias crime sends a message out to the rest of the population that this is going to be something that’s dealt with seriously.”

Read the source article at AP News