HATE CRIME

Man Accused of Punching Postal Worker After Ripping Off Her Hijab

Kenneth Jerome Pinkney also allegedly told the woman to “go back to her country.”

A Florida man has been accused of ripping off a postal worker’s hijab and punching her in the face in an alleged hate crime last month. Kenneth Jerome Pinkney, 47, of Wilton Manors, was arrested on Oct. 24, court documents show. According to a probable cause affidavit seen by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Pinkney’s alleged victim was delivering mail to a house at the time of the attack. Pinkney rode by on a bicycle, making a shooting gesture at the woman with his hand and then calling her derogatory names, the newspaper reports. He also allegedly told her to “go back to her country” before launching into an assault. The woman was left scratched and bleeding from the mouth, the affidavit says. Pinkney has been charged with battery/second or subsequent offense and committing a second-degree felony with prejudice.