A Brooklyn couple is behind bars after they reportedly snatched the face mask off a Hasidic man.

Paul Pinho, 35, and his wife, Clelia, 46, are facing hate crime charges in connection with the incident, which occurred Sunday evening in the borough’s Williamsburg section, police say. It started when the couple spotted a group of Hasidic Jews as they were driving through the neighborhood, according to an NYPD report. After calling 911 to report a “large crowd gathering,” the couple got out of their car, shouted racial slurs at the group and attempted to take their protective masks off their faces, the report indicates. They succeeded in removing at least one, police say.

Addressing the incident during his Monday press briefing, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “It is something that expresses hate, but also creates danger, and that is unacceptable. And we are not going to allow it here in this city.” He added the Pinhos are facing “serious consequences” for the crime.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/11/us/hate-crime-charge-anti-semitic-remarks-trnd/index.html