Man arraigned for hate crime against Sikh teen Allegedly attacked, tried to take turban

by Kristen Guglielmo Associate Editor

Christopher Philippeaux, 26, was arraigned last Friday for punching and trying to remove a traditional Sikh turban off a fellow bus passenger, the Queens District Attorney’s Office announced Saturday.

According to the charges, on Oct. 15 at approximately 9 a.m., Philippeaux and a 19-year-old man were passengers on an MTA bus in Richmond Hill.

The teenager was wearing a medicaltype mask and a turban — a head covering he wore as part of his religious practice as a Sikh, the DA’s Office said.

Philippeaux approached the man and yelled at him to remove his mask before pushing the victim and punching him in the face, the charges said.

He then punched the victim in the back of the head, the charges said, and tried to knock off the victim’s turban, telling him, “We don’t wear that in this country.”

Philippeaux punched the victim multiple times in the back of his head and body

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