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TexasTowelie

(116,501 posts)
Sun Jan 14, 2018, 05:41 AM Jan 2018

Iowa City business owner arrested after asking customer: 'Are you a terrorist?'

The owner of an Iowa City automotive repair shop was arrested on a harassment charge after police say he repeatedly asked a customer if he was a terrorist.

According to an Iowa City Police Department complaint, Cermak Automotive owner Chad Anton Cermak, 47, was charged with third degree harassment, a simple misdemeanor, after an incident at his business Monday.

At about 4 p.m. Monday, a customer entered the store, 1220 Gilbert Court, and Cermak made "multiple and repeated harassing statements to the customer," according to the complaint.

The comments included:

"Are you a Muslim?"
"Are you a terrorist?"
"Are you a suicide bomber?"
"Are you wearing a bomb vest?"
"How do you walk down the street without people fearing you?"
"Are you going to blow up my place of business?"


Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/01/09/police-iowa-city-business-owner-arrested-after-calling-customer-terrorist/1016174001/

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Iowa City business owner arrested after asking customer: 'Are you a terrorist?' (Original Post) TexasTowelie Jan 2018 OP
Trump's America Skittles Jan 2018 #1
Should he have been charged? exboyfil Jan 2018 #2
Comments section Proud liberal 80 Jan 2018 #3
This message was self-deleted by its author Cairycat Jan 2018 #4

exboyfil

(17,975 posts)
2. Should he have been charged?
Sun Jan 14, 2018, 06:50 AM
Jan 2018

Now he is a martyr. The customer should have pulled out his phone, and put it on Youtube. I don't think Cermak would do very well in Iowa City after that.

Here is the statute -

b. A person commits harassment when the person, purposefully and without legitimate purpose, has personal contact with another person, with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or alarm that other person. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, “personal contact” means an encounter in which two or more people are in visual or physical proximity to each other. “Personal contact” does not require a physical touching or oral communication, although it may include these types of contacts.

Response to TexasTowelie (Original post)

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