Man charged with hate crime in US for punching Sikh teen wearing turban

New York: A 26-year-old man has been arrested and charged with a hate crime in the US for attacking a Sikh teenager on a bus here for wearing a turban, according to media reports.

Police on Thursday arrested Christopher Philippeaux, who was conditionally released by parole in July 2021 after serving more than two years in prison, and charged him with a hate crime after the incident on the bus near 118th Street and Liberty Avenue in Queens on October 15, CBS News reported.

According to police, Philippeaux approached the 19-year-old Sikh boy on the New York City MTA bus and said, “We don’t wear that in this country,” referring to his turban.