Federal Hate Crime Charge for Stabbing of Muslim in Utah

 The Utah Muslim Civic League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the federal indictment of a Utah man on a hate crime charge for allegedly stabbing a Muslim man at the West Valley Mall in West Valley City, Utah.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal grand jury indicted 48-year-old Peter Larsen on a charge of willfully causing bodily injury to a victim because of his actual or perceived religion. Prosecutors allege that Larsen went to the mall intending to attack Muslims, asked employees whether they were Muslim, purchased a knife inside the mall, and then attacked the victim after he identified himself as Muslim. Bystanders intervened and detained the alleged attacker until police arrived.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“We welcome the Justice Department’s decision to pursue a federal hate crime charge in this horrific terror attack on an American Muslim. When an individual goes looking for Muslims to attack because of their faith, that is precisely the kind of religiously-motivated violence that our nation’s hate crime laws are designed to address.

“We commend the federal prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and courageous bystanders who intervened to stop this attack. Most importantly, our thoughts remain with the victim, his family, and the broader Utah Muslim community as they continue to recover from this traumatic act of violence.

“This case is also a warning about the real-world consequences of anti-Muslim hate. Public officials and community leaders have a responsibility to reject hate rhetoric that demonizes Muslims, portrays them as threats, or questions their belonging in America. Words that dehumanize an entire community can help create an environment in which vulnerable individuals feel empowered to act violently.”

Last month, CAIR and the Utah Muslim Civic League welcomed the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s filing of formal felony attempted murder charges in the case.

CAIR has repeatedly condemned anti-Muslim rhetoric by public officials and has tied that spike in hate to growing acts of violence targeting American Muslims, like the recent deadly terror attack on a San Diego mosque.

In recent weeks, CAIR chapters nationwide have responded to a disturbing series of anti-Muslim hate incidents.

SEE: As Abdul El-Sayed breaks a barrier, anti-Muslim vitriol surges on multiple fronts – Associated Press

Just yesterday, CAIR called on local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate an allegedly bias-motivated spitting attack on a Muslim woman in Kentucky as a hate crime.

The Michigan chapter of CAIR welcomed federal charges against an Alaska man accused of making threats to injure and murder Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and issuing violent, Islamophobic threats against Muslims.

The Pittsburgh and Philadelphia chapters of CAIR welcomed the City of Erie’s response to reported threats targeting the local Muslim community.

And CAIR’s Florida chapter called on politicians in that state to renounce anti-Muslim hate in the wake of an alleged plot to carry out a mass killing at a mosque.

Washington, D.C., based CAIR’s latest civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025 – the highest number ever recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996.