VT Democratic leader threatened with anti-Muslim emails

A Burlington man has been accused of sending a series of threatening and anti-Muslim emails to the leader of the Vermont Democratic Party, Faisal Gill.

Gill, who was born in Pakistan, is believed to be the first Muslim leader of a state political party in the United States.

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Christopher Hayden, 48, of Burlington was arraigned in June on a charge of disturbing the peace by electronic means with a hate-crime enhancement, said Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of two years and three months, George said.

Hayden pleaded not guilty and was released on conditions, George said.

The case was first reported Friday by Vermont Public Radio.

Gill received one anti-Muslim email May 24 from an account in Hayes' name, and two additional messages May 31, according to copies of the messages that Gill shared Friday with the Burlington Free Press.

The final two emails used racial and ethnic slurs and included a lewd cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. The writer told Gill that it was his "last chance" to "get out of my Green Mountains."

In a separate email, the writer told Gill: "get out or we will make you wish you did." 

Gill, who had never met Hayden, said he was deeply disturbed and alerted Burlington police.

"I do hope that he gets a sentence that makes him realize that he cannot do these kind of things any more," Gill said in an interview.

George, the prosecutor, believes the threats were based entirely on Gill's religion.

"Any time that an individual is targeted and threatened based on their nationality, religion or ethnicity, I find it extremely concerning and a threat to the integrity of our entire country," George said.

In late 2015 Hayden denied a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after police said he had threatened to kill a man while using racial slurs on Burlington's Church Street Marketplace. George confirmed that the case involved the same man.

Sarah Reed, a public defender whom George said is representing Hayden, did not immediately respond to a phone message and email seeking comment after business hours Friday. 

An email sent to the return address of the messages that contained the slurs was not immediately returned Friday evening.

Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum. Do you have a breaking news tip? Call us at 802-660-6500 or send us a post on Facebook or Twitter using #BFPTips.