- For Immediate Release and Distribution -

(CHICAGO, IL, 9/4/2024) - The Chicago Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed hate crime charges for a man who allegedly waved a gun while shouting racist slurs at a Black man and four others in Lombard Park. 

According to prosecutors, a Black man and four other people were at a park near the Lombard Lagoon on Sunday when the suspect blew a whistle, screamed racial slurs and “white power,” and gave a Nazi salute. He has been charged with a hate crime. 

SEE: Man charged with hate crime at Lombard park

“We welcome the charges in this disturbing case and are thankful that no one was harmed,” said CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab. “Threats of violence based on bigotry must always be taken seriously.”

He said CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.  

CAIR-Chicago’s mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote understanding.  

CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR Chicago, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com; Maggie Slavin, Operations Manager of CAIR-Chicago, 815-590-3991, mslavin@cair.com; Hafsa Haider, Communications Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago, 561-317-7509, hhaider@cair.com