Source: Newsday
On June 18, 2003 Newsday reported that "Gurpreet Singh tensed last week when he saw the man he says tormented him on a train in February... Recounting the incident, Singh, 25, of Syosset, said he was riding home from Penn Station when a man sipping beer stared threateningly at him and shoved him with his chest. Singh said the man screamed at him to get off the train, rambling on about losing friends on Sept. 11. As fellow commuters tried to intervene, the man called Singh a Muslim, apparently misinterpreting Singh's black turban... Thomas Brand, 33, of Huntington, was charged with second-degree harassment and pleaded not guilty through his lawyer at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead last week. He was released without bail. Afterward, Brand's attorney, Christopher Palermo of Smithtown, said his client didn't want to comment... Singh, who is a Sikh, said he hopes the charge against Brand will be upgraded to a hate crime."