State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Hialeah Police Chief Sergio Velazquez announce on Tuesday that hate crime enhancement charges were being made against 58-year-old anesthesiologist Jennifer Susan Wright.
Wright’s original arrest was made a month ago at her Miami Springs home, and the attack took place Jan. 20, Joe Biden’s inauguration day. A shopper says he admonished Wright for standing too close to him in the store, which threw her into a rage, causing her to follow him to the parking lot, screaming derogatory anti-Hispanic ethnic slurs and telling him to go back to his country.
According to the arrest report, Wright shouted “We should have gotten rid of you when we could… this is not going to be Biden’s America, this is my America” and “we should have burned it all.”
After scratching his car with a key, causing nearly $600 in damages, a news release from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office says that when the victim went to grab his phone to dial 911, the then Mt. Saini Hospital physician allegedly punched him, causing the victim to drop his phone on the ground. As the victim attempted to pick his phone up from the ground, Ms. Wright allegedly began to kick him and try to crush the phone to keep the victim from using it.
As Ms. Wright began to leave the scene, the victim attempted to take a picture of Ms. Wright or of her vehicle’s license plate. Ms. Wright then pretended to go into a vehicle that was not hers, but then ran towards her true vehicle and fled the scene.
Wright is being charged with:
Battery with Prejudice – 3rd Degree Felony
Criminal Mischief with Prejudice – 3rd Degree Felony
Tampering with a victim/witness – 2nd Degree Felony
She lost her job at the Miami Beach hospital shortly after the news broke.
“It is sad that in such a diverse, multi-ethnic community like Miami-Dade County, Covid precautions can trigger such alleged outbursts of ethnic hate. Hate crimes are always meant to demean and intimidate their intended targets,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “I am proud that this victim would not be terrified into silence, allowing my Hate Crimes prosecutors to bring this case before our criminal courts.”
