A 58-year-old man in Florida was arrested after allegedly terrorizing his Iraqi neighbors in an effort to get them to leave, officials said.
According to a police report, David Allen Boileau was found by officers walking out of his neighbor’s home in the town of Holiday on Tuesday following a call about a possible burglary.
Boileau allegedly told a Pasco County sheriff’s deputy that he entered the residence through an unlocked door, but exited without taking anything.
He then allegedly opened his neighbor’s mailbox and discovered mail pertaining to possible immigration paperwork. That’s when his neighbor arrived to discover him on his property and called authorities.
The officer said that while listening to Boileau’s account, he “uttered several statements of dislike for people of Middle Eastern descent” and spoke of “the US needing to get rid of people with Middle Eastern descent and [that] they don’t belong here.” He also allegedly said that if he isn’t able to accomplish that himself, “Trump will handle it.”
It apparently was not the first time the suspect has made similar racist remarks, or allegedly harassed the family.
Boileau threw screws at a car belonging to the neighbor’s brother-in-law in an effort to flatten the tires and made repeated comments about “get[ting] rid of them one way or another,” according to the police report.
Boileau was initially arrested on suspicion of burglary. However, on Wednesday, authorities announced that they are also pursuing hate crime charges, and have forwarded the case to the FBI.
“He wished they weren’t in the community — which is ironic, because he’s the one who moved into our community,” Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said, adding that Boileau is clearly “anti–Middle Eastern.”
Boileau could also face a federal charge related to mail tampering.