Calls For a Federal Case
After Tuesday's early-morning vandalism outside a Landsale mosque - a Hatboro man allegedly fired dozens of shots into two parked cars - a national Islamic civil rights group is calling for federal charges.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) notes that Robert Blackburn, 53, was charged with ethnic intimidation after allegedly using a .22-caliber rifle to cause more than $5,000 in damages shortly before 4 a.m. Tuesday. He was also charged with criminal mischief, firearms violations, misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person, and disorderly conduct. He's being being held in Montgomery County prison on $50,000 bail; a preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 18.
The cars were owned by a religious leader and a member of the North Penn mosque.
In a news release, CAIR noted that a man recently shouted such religious slurs as "dirty Arabs" and "raghead" at a Muslim family driving near Blue Bell. "Only traffic charges were filed against the alleged assailant, despite requests to probe the apparent bias motive for the attack," the Council contends.
Fair question. I'm not sure you can blame the topic for a lack of comments, though. I've been writing this blog for nearly 6 months, and so far a lack of comment might mean it was written in a way that didn't invite response. This one was pretty straight-forward - newsy - and maybe that is part of the silent treatment. Still, you make a challenging point.