Melrose Woman Ordered To Take Sensitivity Training After Racist Attack

MEDFORD, MA — A Melrose woman was sentenced to six months probation Tuesday and ordered to undergo sensitivity training after her racist attack on a Melrose city councilor and her family last December, multiple news outlets reported.

Joan Ditomaso, 68, appeared in court after being arraigned in June on assault and battery charges stemming from her confrontation with Melrose City Councilor-at-Large Maya Jamaleddine and her husband Abdullah at a Melrose gas station. The Jamaleddine's children also were present during Ditomaso's racist attack, some of which was captured on cellphone video.

Maya Jamaleddine became the first Muslim elected official in Melrose and the state's first elected official to wear a hijab in 2020.

According to Boston.com, Ditomaso pleaded not guilty to assault and battery charges in June, but admitted to pushing Abdallah Jamaleddine. Ditomaso claimed she was provoked by Abdallah Jamaleddine taking a video of her license plate, according to court records.

Malden District Court Judge Emily A. Karstetter on Tuesday "continued the case without finding for six months," though she ordered Ditomaso to take an online course called "How are American Muslims Treated?" according to Boston.com.

Ditomaso also was ordered to stay away from the Jamaleddine family.

Prosecutors claimed that the Dec. 3 confrontation between Ditomaso and Jamaleddines included Ditomaso calling Maya Jamaleddine a "terrorist Arab" and telling her to "go back to her country." Ditomaso also pushed Abdullah Jamaleddine twice, according to prosecutors.

Ditomaso admitted Tuesday that she did say "go back to your country."

In court Tuesday, Maya Jamaleddine read a statement from her husband

"I couldn’t believe that this person hated us for how we looked and for our religion. I felt angry and betrayed. I have lived here for most of my life and consider myself a total American," the statement read.

The statement continued: "As a father, that hurt terribly, I found my daughter in the safety position she learned at school in case of an active shooter, with her hands covering her head."

Outside the courtroom, Maya Jamaleddine said all she wanted from Ditomaso was an apology, according to WHDH.