CAIR-Chicago Welcomes Hate Crime Sentencing for Peoria County Man

(CHICAGO, IL, 1/10/25) – The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, welcomed a hate crime sentencing against Charles Gathard for his racially charged attack against his Black neighbors in Peoria County, IL.

“Besides shouting slurs, Gathard threw sticks at his neighbors’ house, threatened to burn it down, and told them to “go back to your village” on the night of Aug. 6, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report said.”

“The sentencing of Charles Gathard shows that hate and bigotry will not be tolerated,” said Hafsa Haider, CAIR-Chicago’s Communications Coordinator. “Incidents like this remind us of the harm racial hatred causes and the need to hold individuals accountable to protect our communities.”

CAIR-Chicago’s mission is to defend civil rights, fight bigotry, and promote understanding.  

 
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR Chicago, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com; Maggie Slavin, Operations Manager of CAIR-Chicago, 815-590-3991, mslavin@cair.com; Hafsa Haider, Communications Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago, 561-317-7509, hhaider@cair.com