Letter: New hate crime program ‘disingenuous’

On Oct. 26, an illegal alien, from Mauritania, Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, is accused of going to West Rogers Park (my former, long-ago neighborhood) and shooting a Jewish man on his way to synagogue. City officials quickly began downplaying what happened.

For two days after the attack, they released only the suspect's age, 22, and no other identifying information. CPD announced felony charges on Oct. 28 but wouldn't say if they were investigating a hate crime or an act of terrorism. Authorities also refused to comment on doorbell camera footage that showed a man yelling "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is Great" that Islamic extremists often utter when committing terrorist acts.

On Oct. 30, Fox News reported that in 2023 the suspect entered the U.S. illegally and was released into the country pursuant to the Biden-Harris administration's policies. At some point, he went to Chicago, a sanctuary city, and obtained a driver's license from Illinois, a sanctuary state. Law enforcement would have known his immigration status by running his identification, but instead the public was kept in the dark.

Facing accusations of a coverup, just days before the election, on Oct. 31, Chicago's mayor, Brandon Johnson, and State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced hate-crime and terrorism charges. In the Northwest Herald's Wednesday, Nov. 6, Opinion section, page 12, "New confidential service should bring help to victims of hate crimes" called "Help Stop Hate." This seems a bit disingenuous coming from the Democrats that run Chicago and Springfield that wanted to suppress this obvious hate-crime and act of terrorism.

Robert Gebhardt