Darien woman faces hate crime charges after incident at 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, is also charged with disorderly conduct.

She is accused of yelling expletives at a man who was wearing a sweatshirt with the word “Palestine” printed on it, according to a news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. She is charged with a hate crime because she is accused of conduct 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. Saturday to the restaurant, 7361 Lemont Road.

According to court documents, Szustakiewicz also tried to hit the cell phone out of the hands of a woman who was recording the incident.

Szustakiewicz was arrested Sunday and was in first-appearance court Monday.

Her next court date is scheduled Dec. 16.