A series of alleged hate crimes targeted at Portland’s Muslim community are under investigation by the Portland Police Department.
Three separate instances of actions attempting to intimidate or ostracize Muslim members of the Portland community were reported by members of the Omar Bin Alkhetab Masjid mosque on Aug. 2, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The mosque members reported two videos that were shared with them; one showing a person burning a Quran and one showing a person entering the mosque some time in April while recording details of the interior while talking with others on WhatsApp, a social media platform, according to the Press Herald.
A Muslim family also reported that graffiti with allegedly threatening messages was left on a street outside their home on or before Aug. 5, the Portland newspaper reported.
The Portland Police Department has opened an investigation, and will report any evidence that is indicative of a hate crime to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Maine Attorney General.
A hate crime is defined as any action against a person that is motivated by bias against a person’s race, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, disability or sexual orientation. Any attempt to threaten, intentionally injure, intimidate or oppress someone based on bias is a Class D offense in Maine, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Attorney General Aaron Frey declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, according to the Press Herald.
Members of the Council on American-Islamic Relation welcomed an investigation into the videos and graffiti, calling for appropriate actions to be taken in the wake of the investigation.
“We thank law enforcement for launching a hate crime investigation into this series of disturbing incidents allegedly targeting members of the Portland Muslim community and ask that appropriate actions be taken based on the results of that investigation,” CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said on Thursday.
