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Journalism of Courage
Dashcam footage showing Jennifer Guilbeault, 23––who was riding in the back seat of an Uber with another woman in the United States of America’s Manhattan––attacking the driver out of the blue by unloading a can of pepper spray in his eyes, has gone viral. The incident happened on July 30 around 11.20 pm, the New York Post reported.
The footage has sparked social media outrage, with people alleging Guilbeault’s act as a hate crime motivated by racism. The driver, 45, who was on a call, can be seen exiting the vehicle after being attacked.
Sharing the video, an X handle wrote, “Woman randomly maces Uber driver ‘because he’s brown.”
Watch the viral video here:
With 12,09,000 views on X, the video prompted several reactions. Reacting to it, a user wrote, “So much racism out there smh.” Another user commented, “omg that poor friend was so confused. I’m glad she didn’t immediately stick up for her friend and was just totally shocked with what she did and why she did it. Glad her friend can actually stay neutral.”
“I’d like to see what led up to this, if he did inappropriate things yes, but if it’s just because of his race no,” a third user reacted.
Guilbeault was taken into custody and charged with third-degree assault. An Uber spokesperson condemned her actions, stating, “The rider’s actions shown in the video are deplorable. Violence is not tolerated, and the rider has been banned from the Uber platform. We will support police in their investigation however we can.”
