A woman accused of attacking an 18-year-old woman in downtown Mountain View and calling her a terrorist has been charged with a hate crime, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.
Prosecutors said the alleged assailant, identified as 43-year-old Atoosa Biglari, a transient woman, was scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday afternoon for both battery and a hate crime after she reportedly attacked the teen nearly two months ago.
"We have no tolerance for those whose intolerance crosses the line into criminality and violence," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the statement.
The incident occurred around 3 p.m. on July 1, when the 18-year-old was walking alone on Castro Street and was accosted by Biglari, according to the District Attorney's Office. Biglari allegedly crossed the street, screamed at the woman and accused her of being a terrorist and "hacking" her.
Witnesses reported that Biglari pushed the woman against a wall and put her hands around her neck. Biglari also allegedly grabbed the woman's hijab and tried to pull it off.
Two women who were nearby during the attack rushed to help the 18-year-old, while Biglari fled the area on a bike a short time after, according to the statement.
Biglari faces a third charge — brandishing a deadly weapon — stemming from an attack that occurred days prior to the July 1 incident. Biglari is accused of threatening a woman with a pair of scissors on June 24.
Comments
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Aug 31, 2022 at 10:32 am
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 10:32 am
""We have no tolerance for those whose intolerance crosses the line into criminality and violence," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in the statement."
Elsewhere it was reported that this repeated offender was charged only with a misdemeanor for her latest attack so one can question Mr, Rosen's statement.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Aug 31, 2022 at 10:37 am
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 10:37 am
Web Link
"The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office filed misdemeanor hate crime and battery charges against 43-year-old Atoosa Biglari on Aug. 12, court records show.
Biglari, who authorities described as transient, was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday but did not appear in court. A judge issued a $25,000 bench warrant for her, and the arraignment was postponed until she appears or is brought to court."
Registered user
Midtown
on Aug 31, 2022 at 11:10 am
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 11:10 am
So glad for the intervention of the brave bystanders. I agree with the comments of Online Name. It saddens me that this horrific, brazen attack is considered a "misdemeanor offense", and makes me fear for the safety of all of us in a community where such offenses are deemed to be of so little importance.
Registered user
Mountain View
on Aug 31, 2022 at 11:12 am
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 11:12 am
Was Atoosa Biglari actually arrested and released on her own recognizance or merely cited for this misdemeanor?
Transient arrestees rarely show up for court unless they are incarcerated at the county jail.
Registered user
Community Center
on Aug 31, 2022 at 11:54 am
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 11:54 am
The woman is a mentally ill transient, what she did is horrific and the poor young woman must be traumatized, with that said, violent mentally ill people commit all sorts of crimes, they need to be admitted to an in-patient facility not incarcerated as it does not address the problem. With that said there are NO in-patient treatment facitiliy and even if there was she would likely refuse to go, you cannot force the person into treatment as it violates their civil rights. So what about the civil rights of the innocent people who are attacked? Just writing this off as a hate crime misses the point.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 31, 2022 at 12:34 pm
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 12:34 pm
This is a prime example of what mental illness and homelessness is in relation to our homelessness population. Some are on hard times, others are on drugs, while others have mental illness. This attack is possibly not a hate crime itself, but a manisfestation of what is going on among those we call homeless.
Regardless of what it is called, it is devastating for the young woman involved. Anybody could potentially be attacked by a mentally ill transient on a whim. The mentally ill could see anything and decide to attack for very little reason. It is sad for the victim. It is sad for the transient. It is sad for all of us.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Aug 31, 2022 at 2:54 pm
Registered user
on Aug 31, 2022 at 2:54 pm
Is the victim okay?
Registered user
another community
on Sep 1, 2022 at 8:10 pm
Registered user
on Sep 1, 2022 at 8:10 pm
Mentally ill transients can be very violent. We're all at risk but I've been around them long enough volunteering helping people in need, including the homeless. You have to be calm, cool and collective. If they're off their meds it can be very trying. You have to defuse the situation, and it's easier said than done. I hope she's okay.
Registered user
Triple El
on Sep 1, 2022 at 11:19 pm
Registered user
on Sep 1, 2022 at 11:19 pm
@Jennifer. “Mentally ill transients can be very violent.”
Indeed. And yet, we are being told by the City that no background checks are necessary for the participants in the so-called “safe” parking program at the First Congregational Church. Anyone who asks for background check is called a NIMBY and otherwise vilified.
Registered user
Community Center
on Sep 2, 2022 at 8:02 am
Registered user
on Sep 2, 2022 at 8:02 am
One way to avoid hate-related crimes is not being overly overt in displaying one's ethnic or religious culture, especially in America.
My ancestors were originally Orthodox Jews from Eastern Europe and upon arrival to the United States, they immediately adopted western-style clothing and cultural practices and later became Reformed Jews which does not emphasize traditional Jewish dietary restrictions.
Wearing a hajib or a burqua in public makes one stand out and is totally unecessary nowadays, perhaps no different than a Chinese person wearing a queque and a conical bamboo hat.
Registered user
Downtown North
on Sep 2, 2022 at 10:36 am
Registered user
on Sep 2, 2022 at 10:36 am
Excellent point(s) Estelle...my grandparents (Issei) arrived in America around the turn of the 20th century and wore western-style clothing.
My grandmother did not walk about town wearing a kimono and wooden sandals nor did my grandfather wear a Hapi coat in lieu of a conventional suit.
They assimilated the best they could because America was now their adopted country and other immigrants could/should do the same.
Registered user
Mountain View
on Sep 2, 2022 at 12:42 pm
Registered user
on Sep 2, 2022 at 12:42 pm
> One way to avoid hate-related crimes is not being overly overt in displaying one's ethnic or religious culture, especially in America.
I echo the sentiments of Ms. Steinman and Mr. Takamoto.
My grandparents came to America from Mexico and initially settled in Boyle Heights (LA), a rough neighborhood if there ever was one.
They did not go to town wearing sombreros, huaraches, or dress like the Mexican peasants in The Magnificent Seven.
Burquas and hijabs are OK to wear at family and ethnic social gatherings but hardly necessary in modern day America.
Registered user
Los Altos
on Sep 3, 2022 at 7:12 am
Registered user
on Sep 3, 2022 at 7:12 am
What surprises me is that many educated women from Muslim countries have fled their native lands to avoid and distance themselves from traditional Islamic practices and cultural mandates deemed repressive.
So why continue to wear a burqua or hajib in America?
Most American women simply wear their hair as is or with a baseball cap and ponytail.
Registered user
Leland Manor/Garland Drive
on Sep 4, 2022 at 9:38 am
Registered user
on Sep 4, 2022 at 9:38 am
16 countries have banned the wearing of full burqas in public citing concealed terrorism risks.
On the other hand, wearing a hajib is no different than a non-Muslim woman wearing a scarf over her head.
Decades ago, some American women even wore hair curlers beneath a scarf while running local errands.
Registered user
Ventura
on Sep 4, 2022 at 11:33 am
Registered user
on Sep 4, 2022 at 11:33 am
A burqa is a symbol of Islamic male oppression and has no place in a free society.
A hajib is merely a scarf worn over a woman's hair and should not be confused with the former.
Registered user
Stanford
on Sep 4, 2022 at 1:43 pm
Registered user
on Sep 4, 2022 at 1:43 pm
Only three countries require that women wear burqas...Afghanistan, Iran and the Indonesian Aceh province.
All are fundamentalist Muslim countries (or regions).
While sixteen countries have officially banned the wearing of burqas, in America it is permitted under the First Amendment (freedom of religion).
The traditional intent of a burqa is to dissuade other men from lusting after a man's wife.
I don't have a problem with this practice.
Registered user
Midtown
on Sep 5, 2022 at 10:01 am
Registered user
on Sep 5, 2022 at 10:01 am
A traditional Catholic nun's attire is very similar to the wearing of a hijab or burqa and Orthodox/Conservative Jews share the same dining restrictions as their Muslim brothers and sisters.
Registered user
another community
on Sep 6, 2022 at 8:12 am
Registered user
on Sep 6, 2022 at 8:12 am
"So why continue to wear a burqua or hajib in America?"
It is a cultural fashion statement that any eoman in America has a right to wear...no different than wearing platform stilettos or a low-cut dress.
Registered user
Mountain View
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:45 am
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:45 am
Back in the day at Gunn, we’d pick up the Daily so we could read the blotter from Atherton and have a good laugh. I think the modern equivalent would be the comments on Palo Alto Weekly articles.