Prosecutors have filed hate crime charges against 18-year-old Seattle resident Abiazzizi I. Idris, who accused of accosting another man on March 10 attack on a Metro bus while yelling anti-gay slurs..
Police claim Idris was riding on a Metro coach when he slapped the victim in the back of the head. He then allegedly asked the victim, using a slur, if he was homosexual. The man denied that he was gay and got off of the bus, but Idris and an associate followed him. Idris again approached him, telling the victim that homosexuality violates his religion.
Then, police assert, “grabbed the victim around his neck and said ‘Give me $10 and your cell phone and I’ll let you go.’”
The victim’s sexual orientation is not noted in court documents. Under state law, malicious harassment occurs when a defendant threatens someone based on their perception of their sexual orientation or other factor.
Idris remains in King County Jail on $50,000 bail. He has not entered a plea in the case.
On a somewhat unrelated side-note, it’s nice to know that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which shut down its print division last week, is still reporting hate crimes on the online version of the paper.
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