Woman charged with hate crime in Muslim headscarf incident

     Valeria Kenney    Tinley Park. Police photo

  woman is charged with a hate crime after she allegedly tried to pull a headscarf off a Muslim woman while the two were grocery shopping November 7.

Valerie Kenney, 54, of Tinley Park,  was shopping at Jewel Foods at 171st and Harlem when she saw the Muslim woman in her aisle.

Police Comdr. Pat McCain says Kenney said something disparaging to the woman in regards to a Muslim being responsible for the massacre at Fort Hood two days earlier. Kenney then allegedly tried to pull off the woman's hijab (headscarf).

The woman was not hurt and police were called. Tinley Park and the Cook County State's Attorney's filed charges today.

The hate crime is a felony and if she is convicted, Kenney faces a maximum 3 year prison sentence.