Gill Parker Payne of Gastonia, North Carolina, was traveling from Chicago to Albuquerque on a Southwest flight in December when he decided that a woman who was sitting a few rows ahead of him should not be wearing a hijab. Shortly before the plane was scheduled to land, Payne walked down the aisle and stopped next to the Muslim woman, who was identified in court documents only as K.A., to tell her to remove her religious headscarf: “Take it off! This is America!” He then grabbed the back of the hijab and pulled it off, leaving the woman’s head exposed. “As a result, K.A. felt violated and quickly pulled the hijab back up and covered her head again,” notes the Justice Department.
Payne pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge of obstructing a person’s right to exercise religious freedom. He will serve two months of home detentions as part of the plea deal, reports CNN, noting that a sentencing date has not been set. The maximum sentence for the charge is one year in prison, a fine of $100,000, and five years of probation. “Because I forcibly removed K.A.’s hijab, I admit that the United States can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I intentionally obstructed K.A.’s free exercise of her religious beliefs,” Payne wrote as part of the plea agreement. “Because my actions occurred while the airplane was still in-flight I admit that the United States can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the offense was in or affected interstate commerce.”
U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez of the District of New Mexico said the prosecution “sends a clear message to anyone who contemplates the use of threats or intimidation to interfere with the right of individuals, including members of our Muslim community, to express their faith without fear.”
