Woman Takes Plea for Pepper- Spraying Muslim Uber Driver

The pepper spray madwoman, Jennifer Guilbeault, who wildly attacked a Muslim Uber driver, Shohel Mahmud, on the Upper East Side last summer, accepted a plea deal on April 23 that will spare her prison, pleading guilty to one felony count of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree.

If Guilbeault—a Northbridge, Mass., native and Manhattan College grad with no prior criminal record—completes her mandated community service, therapy, anti-bias, and alcohol-abuse programs, she will also be spared life as a convicted felon, with her crimes reduced to the non-criminal offense of Harassment in the Second Degree.

This is quite the legal turnaround for the former public relations woman who, when she was indicted by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg in October 2024, was charged with one count each of Second Degree Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, Assault in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime, and Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, and faced up to 15 years in the slammer.

The incident occurred in the early morning of July 31, 2024, when Guilbeault, then 23, and a female friend were passengers in the car of Uber driver Shohel Mahmud.

At around 12:15am, the car stopped at a red light near 65th Street and Lexington Avenue when Mahmud, a Muslim, wearing an earbud in his right ear and placidly looking out the windshield, allegedly began to softly pray in sing-song Arabic.

It was at this point, with no forewarning, that Guilbeault burst into a wild-eyed rage and blasted Mahmud in the face with pepper spray.

Video of the attack, which quickly went viral across the internet, shows Guilbeault, clad in a short, light-colored spaghetti-strap dress, and her friend texting on their phones when the lean, muscular Guilbeault, suddenly ferocious, lunges forward from seat and launches her assault.

It wasn’t just the Guilbeault pepper-spray blast itself that was shocking, however.

Guilbeault compounds what might have been a deranged act of perceived self-defense into something more bizarrely frightening by first reaching around with her right hand to blast Mahmud in the face and then using both her hands to restrain Mahmud’s arm and wrestle him for nearly seven seconds.

Guilbeault’s visible rage and substantial strength are a stark contrast to her stylish earring, thin gold necklace, and swinging blonde ponytail. When Guilbeault lets go of Mahmud, it’s to spray him again in a sort of tactical retreat, during which she’s seen glaring at the victim.

It was at this point that Mahmud was able to escape through the driver-side door, which only seemed to enrage Guilbault further, and, moments later, when Mahmud reached back into the car to stop it from rolling, Guilbault immediately stomped forward and again pepper-sprayed and tried to wrestle Mahmud who, this time, was able to quickly pull away from her.

While Guilbeault was engaging in this hand-to-hand combat, her sentient friend cycled through a range of horrified reactions until she shouted, “Jen! Jen! What the f**k?! What the f**kl did you just do?”

“Get him out, get him out!” came the reply.

“Why did you do that?!”

Although Guilbeault’s answer on video is unclear, Mahmud the Uber driver believed she answered, “He’s brown,” referring to his dark Arab complexion.

“The victim is a hardworking New Yorker who should not have to face this type of hate because of his identity,” said DA Bragg when announcing his original indictment.

“Everyone is welcome to live and work in Manhattan, and our Hate Crimes Unit will continue to address bias-motivated attacks by thoroughly investigating and prosecuting cases, conducting community outreach, and supporting victims.”

Although there were reasons to suspect Guilbeault of a hate crime, as it turns out, the DA had no evidence that could prove this, conceding a point made by Guilbeault’s attorney, Michael Alber.

What wasn’t mentioned in Bragg’s original indictment—and was painfully obvious to anyone familiar with the dangers of alcohol—was that Guilbeault appeared to be howling drunk when she attacked Mahmud, which excuses nothing but explains a lot, including the alcohol-treatment-program part of her sentencing.

Guilbeault— a Sigma Delta Tau sorority girl while at Manhattan College—was fired from her job as PR agent with Pagan Communications of Melville, LI, shortly after her alleged crimes were reported.

Though understandably very upset at the time, Mahmud, who lives in Elmhurst, Queens, with his wife, mother, and three children, was at peace with the court’s decision to accept Guilbeault’s plea deal.

“She’s almost my kid’s age,” Mahmud told the New York Post. “After all, I believe in the Judgment Day. I have to stand in front of my God, that’s the reason why I forgive her. If I forgive her, God will forgive me.”