ELIZABETH PREZA
18 NOV 2016 AT 10:02 ET
A Michigan man shouting “Trump” attacked an immigrant cab driver Saturday, mlive.com reports.
Yemaj Adem, an Ethiopian immigrant, described the rage he encountered last weekend after a man, later identified as Jacob David Holtzlander, jumped into his cab along with five women. Adem said he assumed Hotzlander was with the women, but later discovered otherwise.
According to Adem, Holtzlander—whom Adem said appeared drunk—became agitated when the cab driver informed him his offer of $10 would not be enough to complete the trip.
“The first punch, I was surprised,” Adem told mlive.com. “I’ve never experienced this from a fare. Five years now and I’ve never had an issue.”
“When I heard that Trump word, I knew this was something different,” he added.
Adem was able to escape the assault by jumping out of the cab. He returned to his car and drove away after Holtzlander got out and laid on the ground.
Police arrested the suspect for assault and battery; officers said he made racially insensitive comments while they transferred him to the station.
“I understand there’s a few people that have been brainwashed with hate speech,” Adem said. “And I’m not labeling everyone like this guy, but there are some out there.”
“That was the first thing that went through my mind when he started punching,” he added. “This was one of the hateful guys.”
Watch the video below, via mlive:
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