A 37-year-old Chicago woman has pleaded guilty to two counts of hate crime for a pair of late-night attacks near a Pilsen mural that prosecutors said celebrated “Mexican and Palestinian solidarity.”
Danielle Wasserman received concurrent one-year sentences after entering her guilty pleas before Judge Michael Clancy. Court records show the sentence was fully satisfied by time already served and the state’s standard 50% sentence reduction.
Prosecutors said Wasserman repeatedly targeted the mural last spring, confronting and assaulting women who challenged her.
The first attack unfolded around 11 p.m. on May 9 in the 1600 block of South Ashland Avenue. A 24-year-old woman who lives nearby told investigators she saw Wasserman tossing trash near the mural’s Palestinian figure. When she confronted Wasserman, the woman said she recognized her from an Instagram video that allegedly showed Wasserman harassing people at the mural weeks earlier.
An argument between the women quickly escalated, prosecutors said. Wasserman allegedly struck the woman’s phone, grabbed her wrists and head, and then straddled her on the ground. Prosecutors said Wasserman yanked the keffiyeh from around the woman’s neck, restricting her breathing as she struggled beneath her.
The victim later told investigators she feared she was about to die. She managed to break free, jump a fence, and escape. Out of fear, she did not report the attack until the next day. Police said she later identified Wasserman in a photo lineup and documented bruising, migraines, and lingering psychological trauma.
Just over a month later, around 11:55 p.m. on June 13, a second confrontation occurred at the same mural. A 42-year-old woman riding a bicycle stopped after noticing white lettering painted across the artwork reading “THANK YOU ISRAEL <3 WOME,” according to charging documents.
The cyclist told police she found Wasserman crouched nearby with her hood up, continuing to paint over the wall. When the woman began recording her and asked a question about genocide, Wasserman allegedly replied sarcastically, “You’re welcome,” before walking away.
Moments later, Wasserman returned and blindsided the cyclist with what prosecutors described as an “industrial-style three-hole punch,” striking her and knocking her to the ground. Surveillance video allegedly captured Wasserman pinning the woman down, smearing her with white paint, and warning her that no one, including police, would believe her.
A passerby recorded the assault and called 911. Officers responded, spoke with both women, and released Wasserman at the scene.
Days later, Wasserman filed her own police report alleging she was being harassed on social media. On August 5, however, she surrendered to CPD and was charged in connection with both attacks.
In addition to the prison sentence, court records require Wasserman to complete hundreds of hours of community service and “enroll in edcational program discouraging hate crimes involving the protected class.”
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