The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, today welcomed civil rights and criminal threat charges filed against a 40-year-old man who allegedly hurled slurs and made violent threats toward Muslim community members during evening prayers at a Moorpark mosque.
SEE: Moorpark man arrested in threat against mosque members during prayers
Deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident and arrested the suspect on suspicion of criminal threats and interfering with or intimidating individuals in the free exercise of their constitutional rights.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“We welcome the swift law enforcement response and the filing of civil rights charges in this alarming incident. No worshiper should ever have to fear for their safety while engaging in peaceful prayer at their place of worship. Bias-motivated harassment and threats strike at the very core of our constitutional rights, and holding perpetrators accountable is essential to keeping our communities safe.”
CAIR-LA is calling on Muslim community leaders to utilize its current resources to help keep religious facilities safe.
SEE: Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety Guide 2026
Washington, D.C.-based CAIR recently said it has documented 17 incidents targeting Islamic places of worship in May, June, and July to date. The 17 incidents represent 51 percent of the previous year’s total and a 183 percent increase over the same three-month period last year, during which CAIR documented six such incidents.
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.
BACKGROUNDER: CAIR recently responded to a number of anti-Muslim hate incidents nationwide.
Last week, CAIR welcomed charges brought against a Spotsylvania County, Virginia, man in connection with an alleged bomb threat made against the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center.
CAIR’s Michigan chapter welcomed charges brought against a Roseville woman who allegedly threatened violence against a local mosque and Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.
CAIR welcomed law enforcement’s decision to pursue hate crime charges against a suspect accused of harassing community members, uttering anti-Islamic threats, and attempting to break into a Washington state mosque.
CAIR also welcomed the federal indictment of a Thornton, Colorado, man who allegedly made violent threats against American Muslims, law enforcement, judges, federal agents, and Muslims.
CAIR’s Michigan chapter called on law enforcement and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office to pursue all appropriate charges, including applicable hate crime charges, against a man who allegedly threatened to kill four Muslim men outside the Troy Public Library while reportedly armed with a handgun.
CAIR’s national office recently 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.
At its annual gala in Washington, D.C., CAIR recognized the three men who were killed saving countless lives when they confronted two white supremacist gunmen during the May 18 terror attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego.]
CAIR’s national office said Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith’s escalating anti-Muslim rhetoric, including comments made marking the anniversary of 9/11, incites anti-Muslim hatred and put American Muslims at risk of violence.
CAIR called on law enforcement authorities in West Virginia to step up security in the area of mosques and Islamic institutions and investigate a reported online threat to “kill” Muslims in that state.
CAIR’s Ohio chapter welcomed federal charges filed against Wyatt Brzoska, a 20-year-old Valley City man accused of posting online threats and planning a violent attack against a mosque in Columbia Station, Ohio.
CAIR’s New York chapter condemned the reported harassment of Muslim minors outside a mosque in Albany, New York
Other recent anti-Muslim incidents:
CAIR welcomed the reported indictment of a Winston-Salem, N.C., teen allegedly connected to the May 2026 white supremacist terror attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego.
CAIRexpressed support for an Indiana restaurant manager who reportedly stood up for a young Muslim employee after a customer allegedly made anti-Muslim comments about the employee’s hijab and reportedly said that Muslims “scare” her.
CAIR welcomed an arrest of a suspect in an allegedly bias-motivated spitting attack on a Muslim woman in Kentucky.
CAIR’s Maryland office condemned the reported harassment of multiple Muslim women wearing Islamic headscarves, or hijabs, at a market in Montgomery County.
CAIR’s Los Angeles office condemned the violent online threats responding to an online anti-Muslim smear campaign targeting the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI).
In New York, CAIR called on local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate reported hate vandalism targeting a mosque site on Long Island as a possible hate crime.
CAIR’s Florida chapter welcomed charges for an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a mosque.
Its Michigan chapter 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.
Its Pittsburgh and Philadelphia chapters welcomed the City of Erie’s response to reported threats targeting the local Muslim community and urged authorities to remain vigilant in protecting residents from anti-Muslim hate and intimidation.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
– END – CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or [email protected]; CAIR-LA Senior Communications Coordinator Madi Hameed, [email protected]