Woman allegedly targets man in ‘Palestine’ sweatshirt at Panera, charged with hate crime

A woman has been charged with a hate crime after she allegedly targeted a man wearing a “Palestine” sweatshirt at an Illinois Panera Bread, authorities said.

Alexandra Szustakiewicz, 64, was at a Panera in Downers Grove, a Chicago suburb, around noon Saturday when she saw a man wearing a sweatshirt that read “Palestine,” the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said. She allegedly confronted him and began yelling expletives, the prosecutor said.

When a woman who was with the man began taking video of the confrontation, Szustakiewicz allegedly tried to knock the phone out of the woman’s hand, prosecutors said.

Szustakiewicz, a Darien resident, was taken into custody the next day and is accused of committing “a hate crime based on perceived national origin,” prosecutors said.

“This type of behavior is not and will never be tolerated in our community,” Downers Grove Police Chief Michael DeVries said in a statement.

Downers Grove is about 23 miles west of Chicago.

“Every member of society, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or other individual characteristics, deserves to be treated with respect and courtesy,” added DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin.

Szustakiewicz made his first court appearance Monday on two counts of hate crime and one misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, authorities said.

She is next due in court on December 16.