Texas woman gets 5 years for trying to drown Palestinian-American child in hate crime

A Texas woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to drown a 3-year-old Palestinian-American Muslim girl in a 2024 attack that authorities said was driven by racial bias.

Court records cited by CBS News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram showed Judge Andy Porter handed down the sentence to Elizabeth Wolf, 43, after she pleaded guilty to attempted murder and injury to a child. Wolf, indicted last year, waived her right to a jury trial.

The case drew national attention and condemnation, including from then-US President Joe Biden, after the May 2024 incident at a swimming pool in Euless, Texas.

According to police reports, Wolf argued with the girl's mother at the pool before asking where the family was from.

She then tried to drown the 3-year-old and attempted to grab her 6-year-old brother.

The children's mother managed to pull her daughter from the water.

Medics later confirmed both children were unharmed.

Authorities said the incident was racially motivated.

Rising fears of bias

Human rights advocates said the case reflects rising threats against American Muslims, and Arabs since Israel launched its genocide in Gaza.

Among the most high-profile incidents was the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Illinois, and the stabbing of a Palestinian-American man in Texas.

In California, a mob attacked pro-Palestine protesters.

Rights groups warn that the parallel rise in Islamophobia, and anti-Arab racism underscores the increasingly volatile atmosphere in the United States as the Gaza genocide continues.

Source: TRT