Businessman accused of attacking Muslim worker at JFK

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS/AP) - Police arrested a Massachusetts man on hate crimes charges for allegedly assaulting a Muslim airline employee at John F. Kennedy Airport Wednesday night.

Robin Rhodes, 57, of Worchester, was waiting for a flight to Massachusetts when he approached an employee wearing a hijab and sitting in her office, according to the Queens district attorney. Authorities said that Rhodes punched the door and kicked Rabeeya Khan's leg.

The DA said Rhodes tried to block her from leaving, but then her, got to his knees as if praying, cursed Islam and shouted "Trump is here now. He will get rid of all of you."

Khan is a contracted employee at the Sky Club in Terminal 2, according to Delta.

"The bigotry and hatred that the defendant is accused of manifesting and acting upon have no place in a civilized society -- especially in Queens County, the most culturally diverse county in the nation," District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. "Crimes of hate will never be tolerated here and when they do, regrettably occur, those responsible will be brought to justice."

When Port Authority cops arrested Rhodes, he allegedly told officers: "I guess I am going to jail for disorderly conduct. I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman because their back was to me and they had something covering their head."

Rhodes faces hate crimes charges of assault, unlawful imprisonment, aggravated harassment and menacing. 

Rhodes is the president of Nitrofreeze Cryogenic Solutions, a metals company based in Worcester.

"What happened in this incident is totally unacceptable and Delta has made its stance clear on these types of events," Delta said in the statement. "People who are violent or exhibit bullying behavior are not welcome."

With the AP