Darien woman faces hate crime charges after incident at Downers Grove restaurant

A Darien woman has been charged with committing a hate crime at a Panera Bread restaurant in Downers Grove by yelling at a man wearing a shirt that said “Palestine,” authorities said.

Alexandra Szustakiewicz, 64, of the 1700 block of Boulder Drive, also was charged with disorderly conduct.

Szustakiewicz is accused of yelling expletives at a man who was wearing a sweatshirt with the word “Palestine” written on it, according to a news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. It was a hate crime because the alleged conduct was based on the victim’s nationality or ethnicity.

DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden on Monday granted prosecutors’ request that she be prohibited from entering that Panera Bread location.

Downers Grove police responded at 11:58 a.m. Nov. 16 to the restaurant at 7361 Lemont Road.

The charges allege that Szustakiewicz also tried to hit the cellphone out of the hands of a woman who was videotaping the incident.

Szustakiewicz was arrested Nov. 17 and appeared in first-appearance court Monday.

Her next court date is Dec. 16.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241118/news/darien-woman-faces-hate-crime-charges-after-incident-at-restaurant/