FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Wilton Manors man accused of a hate-fueled attack on a Muslim postal worker delivering mail in Fort Lauderdale in October is now facing a federal charge.
Federal prosecutors charged Kenneth Jerome Pinkney, already facing state charges of battery with prejudice and evidencing prejudice while committing a second degree felony, with assault of a federal employee
Pinkney, 47, was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Wednesday morning following his arrest on the new charge Tuesday. He had bonded out of jail on the state charges in December, Broward court records show.
Officials said the postal worker, also 47, was delivering mail on her route on Oct. 24 and had gotten out of her vehicle when Pinkney came up to her on a bicycle.
He first “made a hand gesture towards her in the shape of a firearm using two fingers to represent the barrel of a gun,” leading the mail carrier to believe he needed food or water, prosecutors said.
When she asked him if he needed help, Pinkney turned his bicycle around, began “gesturing more assertively,” then got off his bike and walked towards her, a criminal complaint states.
