Civil rights group shocked that alleged attacker with extensive criminal record has been released by authorities and is still potentially a danger to victim and community at large
(HOUSTON, TX, 4/18/2019) – The Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on federal law enforcement authorities to investigate an attack on an American Muslim AT&T store employee on Tuesday in Friendswood, Texas.
Video footage of the incident, filmed by an unidentified woman, shows 38-year-old Joey Derek Christian in an AT&T store to help his nephew who had not been able to buy a cell phone because he did not have proper identification, according, according to the video clips. At one point, the clerk asks Christian to leave for being rude. Christian replies, “I haven’t been rude yet. You haven’t seen rude yet. I promise you. The government has trained me very, very well. Rude?”
WATCH: Video Footage of the Incident
[NOTE: The link leads to a Twitter ‘thread’ with three posts each with a portion of the full video due to Twitter’s limits on video length]
According to the video, the alleged attacker asked the store clerk his name. Upon hearing the clerk’s name, he says, “fking Arab” and began shouting obscene and racist slurs such as “fking Arab” and “I been killing their f**king kind for six months, actually two years, six months in the last
country I was in…Because people like this are the reason our country is going where it’s going to….Because I’ve been killing his kind for longer than you’ve probably been alive…His kind, I’ve been killing for almost 20 years. I’ve been on five different continents.”
According to sources familiar with the matter, a restraining order is in place. Despite this, Christian called the manager on duty yesterday to complain and defend himself accusing the media and victim of ‘twisting the story.’ The woman who recorded the video also called police, resulting in the alleged attacker’s arrest.
According to media reports, Christian shared a ‘White Pride’ post in 2015 & ‘liked’ the Facebook pages for a racist prison gang and the Oathkeepers, an anti-government militia movement. According to these reports, “he has a previous criminal record, including an aggravated robbery conviction that led to a 10-year prison sentence, and has twice been arrested on DUI charges, most recently on April 8.”
SEE: Joey Derek Christian: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know (Heavy)
https://heavy.com/news/2019/04/joey-derek-christian/
Man Arrested After Racist Rant at Friendswood Cell Phone Store
http://www.fox26houston.com/news/isiah-factor uncensored/manarrested-after-racist-rant-at-friendswood-cell-phone-store
“It is shocking that even with a clear video of this horrifying interaction where a possible white supremacist with an extensive criminal record threatened a store clerk, the alleged perpetrator is allowed to roam free, putting the life of the clerk, his coworkers, and their families in danger,”
said CAIR-Houston Development and Outreach Coordinator Ambreen Hernandez.
“We call on federal authorities to investigate this incident as a possible hate crime and ensure that the alleged perpetrator is kept from causing harm to the store clerk and the community.”
Hernandez said this attack comes during a time of heightened Islamophobia, including incitement to violence by President Trump against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, one of the first American Muslim women elected to U.S. Congress.
CAIR-Houston is asking Muslim community members to continue to report any bias or hate incidents to CAIR-Houston’s Civil Rights Department at info@houston.cair.com or online at www.cairtexas.com/civil-rights/get-help
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.
END CONTACT:
CAIR-Houston Development and Outreach Coordinator Ambreen Hernandez, 973-495 0976, ahernandez@cair.com
