A North Side man faces hate crime charges for allegedly punching a Black neighbor and threatening to have her killed by the Aryan Nations when he confronted her about singing gospel music in her front yard.
Prosecutors said Gregory Gaimari, age 52, also hurled racial slurs and damaged the woman’s property during the incident in the 6300 block of North Albany.
Authorities did not explain why charges weren’t filed for more than three months after the alleged incident during Gaimari’s bond court hearing Saturday.
Around 11:30 a.m. on November 4, the alleged victim was playing gospel songs on a speaker in front of her home and singing along via a Facebook Live stream when Gaimari came across the street from his house and told her to get out of his neighborhood, prosecutors said.
The two had reportedly never met before.
According to prosecutors, the woman ended her Facebook stream as Gaimari began yelling the n-word and calling her a b*tch. He then allegedly pushed over her loudspeaker and punched her in the chest.
Prosecutors said Gaimari threatened to have friends in the Aryan Nation Brotherhood kill the woman.
She reportedly defended herself by brandishing a can of pepper-spray and chasing Gaimari back into his apartment. He then came back out and continued to hurl racist insults from the stairs, prosecutors said.
The victim and Gaimari both called 911, bringing police to the scene.
Witnesses reported seeing Gaimari push the woman, yelling racial slurs, and pushing her speaker to the ground. One witness also confirmed hearing Gaimari talking about the Aryan Nation Brotherhood, according to prosecutors.
Gaimari allegedly told police that the situation escalated after he asked the woman to turn her music down, but he denied pushing her or knocking over her equipment.
His defense attorney said Gaimari has “some past mental health diagnoses.”
Judge Arthur Willis set bail at $10,000. Gaimari will need to post $1,000 to get out of jail and is then required to stay on electronic monitoring, Willis said.
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