A Barrington, Rhode Island man was arrested after assaulting a Middle Eastern neighbor and calling him a “n***er” and a “rag***d” in an attack that prompted neighbors to come out in force to support the family under attack.
The situation was brought to the public’s attention by Iman Ali Pahlavi, whose husband was assaulted by 71-year-old Richard Gordon after a property dispute. Videos shot by Pahlavi show Gordon’s wife trying to make excuses for his racism and begging the couple, who says they’ve been suffering from micro aggressions by the couple since moving in, not to call police.
Gordon was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct.
The Providence Journal reports: “Posts on social media and local news coverage initially drew attention to Friday’s arrest of Richard Gordon, and by midday Sunday, many people wanted to do something to show support for the man’s neighbors. About 100 people gathered on the lawn, some of them carrying picket signs, all of them listening when Katherine Quinn represented herself as a friend of the family and called for Rhode Islanders to do more to confront racism in the state. The case itself presented a change in scenery from other high-profile dramas that have galvanized protests aligned with the Black Lives Matter cause.”
The investigation is ongoing.
