NPR: Muslim Headscarf Case Leads to Guilty Plea

By Chip Mitchell

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Valerie Kenney has copped a plea for an incident November 7, two days after deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.

The 54-year-old bank teller encountered 28-year-old stay-at-home mother Amal Abusumayah in a Tinley Park supermarket. Abusumayah says Kenney complained loudly about the Fort Hood rampage then yanked on her headscarf.

On Tuesday, Kenney pled guilty to misdemeanor battery and apologized to the victim. A judge ordered probation, a $2,500 fine, community service, and a course on managing anger and accepting diversity.

ABRAHAM: It gives her an opportunity to learn from her mistake.

That’s Christina Abraham of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

ABRAHAM: And we think this does send a message to the greater community that hate crimes are not going to be tolerated and that this sort of behavior is wrong.

Neither Kenney nor her attorney could be reached for comment about her plea bargain.