White woman Only Gets Probation After Spitting On Black Woman Photo: Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
A white woman in Connecticut seems to be getting off lightly for spitting on a Black woman — an action that is normally considered an assault. The woman, who has been charged with a hate crime among other felony charges, will only receive probation.
Yuliya Gilshteyn, 45, was recorded on video spitting on Keren Prescott, a Black Lives Matter activist, during large protests outside the Connecticut state Capitol building on Jan. 6, the same day rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Prescott is the founder of Power Up Manchester, a group that seeks to address racial disparities.
Several groups rallied outside the Connecticut state Capitol for various causes that day, the first of the new legislative session. Video shows MAGA supporter Gilshteyn, who opposes mandatory childhood vaccinations, spitting on Prescott, NBC News reported.
On July 21, Gilshteyn was granted a special probation program for first-time offenders that could leave her with no criminal record. As part of the accelerated rehabilitation, Gilshteyn was ordered to complete 100 hours of anti-hate curriculum over the next two years.
If Gilshteyn successfully completes the classes and fulfills the other terms of the program, all charges will be dismissed, NBC News reported.
Gilshteyn was charged with hate crimes, charges of deprivation of rights and third-degree attempt to commit assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, and risk of injury to a child.
Prescott said she and a friend were shouting “Black Lives Matter” and other slogans at the protests when Gilshteyn told her “all lives matter” and an argument erupted. Prescott said she asked Gilshteyn to move back because Gilshteyn wasn’t wearing a mask amid the coronavirus pandemic. Gilshteyn then spat in her face, hitting her glasses and mask, Prescott said.
Hartford Superior Court Judge Sheila Prats said she did not intend to send a political message with her ruling Wednesday, but that Gilshteyn’s actions were not serious enough to deny her entry into the program, AP reported.
“It’s despicable … I don’t believe (Gilshteyn) 100 percent, because if all life mattered, she wouldn’t do that to you,” Prat said during her ruling Wednesday, according to the Hartford Courant.
Black Lives Matter 860 @blm860 tweeted, “Yuliya Gilshteyn immediately after attacking Keren Prescott and lying about being attacked herself. Today Judge Shiela Prats showed horrible judgement in granting her AR and has a pattern of probation for cases with black victims and rejecting AR for animals and white victims.”
Gilshteyn apologized to Prescott during the hearing and said her attack was “completely out of character,” The Hartford Courant reported.
Prescott was escorted out of the courthouse in tears by supporters and members of her Power Up group. A judge would not have accepted accelerated rehabilitation if a Black woman was caught spitting on a white woman, she and her attorney, Ken Krayeske, argued.
The ruling was “the epitome of white privilege,” Prescott said.
“When she attacked me and the police didn’t believe me, that was white privilege,” she told the Hartford Courant. “When the police held me back and she was led away, that was white privilege. … The fact she was in here today and didn’t even get a slap on the wrist, that is white privilege.”
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