A Massachusetts woman accused of yelling racist slurs at a neighbor and vandalizing their property appeared in court Monday.
Angela Foley, 53, of Winthrop, was arraigned in the East Boston Division of Boston Municipal Court. She ducked cameras as reporters asked her about the civil rights violation and property destruction charges she is facing.
"Nervous and scared this lady has been harassing us," one of the alleged victims, who didn't want to go on camera or give their name, told NBC10 Boston. "It is crazy, we are in 2022 I don't know how people are still racist, everybody is the same."
The victims say over the last month, their next-door neighbor has been shouting racial slurs at them. Over the weekend, they say their windows were busted out in their Winthrop apartment.
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"We were sleeping and we heard banging on all the windows," the alleged victim said.
In court on Monday, prosecutors said police also found a homemade stop-stick — made up of wood, nails, and tires — placed under a car at the apartment building. Police also found a similar device inside Foley's apartment, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said.
"Ultimately, you know, any of these hate-based crimes tear at the fabric of our society," District Attorney Kevin Hayden told NBCBoston. "We have been concerned about it, we have had our eye on it, and that is precisely why we created the unit."
More on recent hate incidents
"The hateful language used by this defendant as she committed several offenses in front of neighbors was inexcusable. Hate speech is not always illegal in our country, but it is always unwelcome in the Town of Winthrop," Winthrop Police Chief Terrence Delehanty said in a statement. "Incidents like this demand a response, and these types of incidents and hatred are part of the reason the Winthrop Police Department has a dedicated Civil Rights Officer. We must respond to these incidents and make it clear that this kind of hatred is not acceptable to our community."
Foley is due back in court Oct. 19.
The case follows the arraignment Friday of a Boston man who allegedly assaulted and injured another man on the MBTA's Andrew Station platform while yelling homophobic slurs. Earlier in the week, a white supremacist group hung racist and antisemitic banners off highway overpasses in Saugus and Danvers.
