Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 20x23

1. In the criminal justice system,

2. sexually-based offenses

3. are considered especially heinous.

4. In New York City, the dedicated detectives

5. who investigate these vicious felonies

6. are members of an elite squad

7. known as the Special Victims Unit.

8. These are their stories.

9. Go! Just go!

10. - They're gonna find out! - Go!

11. Just keep running, dude. Don't look back.

12. You boys, I saw you come out of the synagogue.

13. What were you doing there? I'm calling the cops!

14. Mike!

15. Rob Miller, the disgraced former NYPD attorney,

16. has been released on bail today.

17. Miller spent two months in federal custody

18. and faces multiple felony charges.

19. My client is innocent,

20. and we move for dismissal of all charges

21. and hope for a favorable ruling from the court

22. in the next few days.

23. - Son of a bitch. - Mom! Mom.

24. Yes. Yes, Noah.

25. I'm sorry. What... what is it?

26. - Are you mad at me? - No, honey, of course not.

27. But you're mad.

28. Fine.

29. Yes, I'm mad.

30. I am mad, honey, but not at you.

31. Not at you.

32. So, what's up?

33. How do you spell "believe"?

34. Well, how about we sound it out, right?

35. Okay.

36. Believe.

37. B... E...

38. L... I...

39. E... V... E.

40. Two boys... white.

41. One of 'em had a red hat.

42. You know, one of those...

43. - MAGA hats. - That's right.

44. They were obviously up to no good.

45. Did you see them do anything?

46. They were running away.

47. One of them called me "kike."

48. And after what happened here last week...

49. What happened last week, Mrs. Meyer?

50. The temple was vandalized,

51. swastikas spray-painted everywhere.

52. Okay, we'll take a look.

53. There's nothing to see here.

54. 15 Central, 360 West 89th is unfounded.

55. West 89th is unfounded. 10-4.

56. Ma'am! Ma'am!

57. Ortiz, I got a female unconscious.

58. Call a bus.

59. 15 Central, we have an unconscious female.

60. - Notify SVU. - Got it.

61. Central, send a bus,

62. - and notify SVU. - Please don't. Please.

63. Bus is en route. Say, ten minutes.

64. Hey, are we looking at a sexual assault?

65. Yeah, maybe a hate crime too.

66. Her hijab was torn off.

67. She's Muslim? Attacked in a synagogue?

68. - Do we have an ID? - According to the driver's license,

69. it's Nahla Nasar.

70. The city councilwoman?

71. - Yeah, I guess. - All right, we got this.

72. Nahla Nasar?

73. She's been in the news a lot lately.

74. Yeah, for making anti-Semitic remarks.

75. So what was she doing in a temple?

76. Hi, Ms., uh, Ms. Nasar.

77. I'm Detective Carisi, this is Detective Rollins.

78. Can you tell us what happened to you?

79. Yes.

80. I know exactly what happened.

81. Okay.

82. I was set up.

83. By who?

84. By those people.

85. Yeah, I'm meeting him now.

86. Okay.

87. She was set up by Jews?

88. - That's what she told my detectives. - Jesus.

89. And an eyewitness saw two boys fleeing the scene,

90. one wearing a MAGA hat.

91. It gets better and better.

92. Chief Dodds, was this a hate crime?

93. The investigation is ongoing.

94. We'll let you know as soon as we know.

95. Is it true her hijab was torn off?

96. We won't be releasing any details

97. until we process the evidence.

98. Councilwoman Nasar is an on-the-record anti-Semite.

99. Can you comment?

100. Rest assured, the NYPD does not tolerate

101. bigotry or hate-motivated violence of any kind.

102. Careful. That's it.

103. Fasten your seatbelts.

104. We haven't even discussed Rob Miller yet.

105. - You heard? - That he's out on bail?

106. Yes, and I would've appreciated a heads-up.

107. I only saw it on the news myself.

108. Okay.

109. Hey. How is Ms. Nasar?

110. She's being treated for a concussion,

111. and they're doing a rape kit.

112. Do we have any idea why she was in that synagogue?

113. Not yet, but her chief of staff just got here.

114. Her name is Aida Galanis.

115. Okay, so find out what she knows.

116. And ask her not to make any statements to the press.

117. We don't need this to blow up any more than it already has.

118. Nahla is passionate about her beliefs.

119. She's exercising her right to criticize Israel.

120. She's not anti-Semitic.

121. My understanding is that people got offended

122. by her choice of words.

123. Okay, well, all that aside,

124. we need to figure out why she was at that synagogue.

125. I don't know.

126. You're her chief of staff.

127. She can be a very private person.

128. I respect her boundaries.

129. All right, but has she received any threats lately?

130. Our office is besieged by protesters.

131. We get dozens of hate-spewing calls a day.

132. Okay, but any specific threats?

133. I mean, maybe sexual violence, for example.

134. No one said they want to rape her.

135. Listen, we're gonna need phone and email records

136. and any threats made on social media.

137. I hope you need the overtime.

138. Look, I'm sick about what happened to Nahla.

139. The only upside, maybe everyone will realize

140. that she's the true victim here.

141. Hey.

142. We're very sorry,

143. for what happened to you, Councilwoman.

144. Yeah, I'm fine.

145. My parents are from Syria.

146. I know what women, what girls have endured in war zones.

147. I won't feel sorry for myself.

148. Okay, well, I can appreciate that,

149. but you've been through a trauma,

150. and we're here to help you.

151. Then catch who did this.

152. Can you tell us what you remember about the attack?

153. Um, I was alone in the sanctuary

154. looking at the cabinet for the Torah scrolls.

155. It felt like a place of reverence,

156. of godliness.

157. And then, uh...

158. I was struck violently

159. on the back of the head,

160. and I fell to the ground.

161. Okay, then... then what happened?

162. Um...

163. He pinned me down.

164. He was... he was rough,

165. and he tore off my hijab...

166. Pulled up my skirt and, uh...

167. He forced himself inside me.

168. - Did he say anything?

169. No. No, I didn't... I didn't see his face.

170. I don't know when he left.

171. I must have passed out.

172. Okay, you told my detectives that you were set up.

173. Why were you in the synagogue?

174. I was lured there.

175. By who?

176. By a man pretending to want peace.

177. I was lied to... by a Zionist.

178. Some members of our congregation

179. had an issue with Ms. Nasar.

180. I asked her to walk through our exhibit.

181. I thought if she could see these images,

182. she might understand how hurtful her words are.

183. Well, so what time she say she'd be here?

184. 8:00 p.m. we were supposed to meet in the front office.

185. - She never showed. - How long did you wait for her?

186. 8:20, 8:25.

187. Called her office several times, no answer.

188. So I went home.

189. Now, we have a witness that says she saw

190. two teens with red hats

191. running away from this synagogue.

192. Now, have you had a problem with vandalism here?

193. Two weeks ago, someone spray-painted

194. swastikas, "Death to Jews."

195. We were working on putting in a security system.

196. Not soon enough.

197. Is there anybody else here that could've seen anything?

198. I mean, like, maintenance crew?

199. The facilities manager unlocked the room.

200. There was a youth group meeting.

201. I saw two boys in the bathroom before I left.

202. We're gonna need their names.

203. What happened to Ms. Nasar is horrible.

204. But what she was saying, repeating tropes,

205. normalizing anti-Semitism...

206. that's how it started in Germany.

207. Why can't she say whatever she wants?

208. Well, she can say whatever she wants...

209. that's the First Amendment... but imagine she was saying

210. these kinds of things about African Americans.

211. I don't pay attention to ignorant people.

212. Well, that's you, Fin.

213. The world doesn't work that way.

214. I mean, words have consequences.

215. So it's free speech until you piss somebody off,

216. then it's hate speech.

217. Can I help you?

218. I'm Detective Carisi, this is Sergeant Tutuola.

219. We're looking for Ari Kaplan.

220. Yeah, he's my son.

221. Can you get him for us, please?

222. Now.

223. Ari!

224. Can I ask what this is about?

225. We just need to talk to him.

226. - You Ari? - Yeah.

227. You and another boy were at

228. the Amsterdam Avenue Synagogue

229. last night around 8:00?

230. Hey, look, we didn't touch her.

231. I-I swear to God.

232. Okay, you need to come with us.

233. Right now. Let's go.

234. I'm sorry for dragging you back in.

235. Just tell me that we have a lead.

236. This is Ari Kaplan and Michael Schwartz.

237. They were caught on security cam.

238. They're members of the synagogue.

239. The boys that our witness saw running away?

240. - Yeah. - So they weren't there vandalizing?

241. No, they were there for a meeting

242. about their birthright trip to Israel.

243. And this is not a MAGA hat.

244. No, it's a high school logo red cap,

245. and Esther Meyer says that she might've misunderstood.

246. "Mike" for "kike."

247. So do they have anything to do

248. with Nahla Nasar's assault?

249. They claim that she was already

250. laying unconscious on the floor

251. when they walked through the sanctuary.

252. Then why didn't they call the police?

253. Look, I told you.

254. We freaked out. We thought they'd blame us.

255. Why would she blame you?

256. - 'Cause she's an anti-Semite. - All right, look, look.

257. Detective, I have no great love for Ms. Nasar,

258. but my son didn't rape her, he's a good boy.

259. Who left a passed-out woman bleeding on the temple floor.

260. I'm not sure that God would agree with you.

261. What was she even doing in there?

262. It's like she was deliberately trying to...

263. - Ari. - Oh, no, no.

264. He can finish. He's a big boy.

265. Deliberately trying to what?

266. - To provoke us. - Well, did she?

267. Because I see a lot of anger.

268. She had her skull smashed in!

269. Her hijab was torn off.

270. I didn't do that. That wasn't me.

271. Okay.

272. Okay, maybe not.

273. Maybe it was your, uh, your buddy, Michael.

274. But let me tell you something.

275. If it was, then right now, you gotta come clean

276. before he gives you up.

277. - I didn't do anything! - No, you didn't.

278. You didn't do a thing,

279. to save a woman bleeding on the floor.

280. That doesn't make him guilty of rape.

281. Makes him guilty of something.

282. Is that Muslim woman accusing my son?

283. And if she is?

284. She wears a headscarf. You know what that means.

285. That means she believes in Sharia law.

286. So she's a terrorist?

287. My son's not answering

288. any more questions without a lawyer.

289. So what are we looking at?

290. Well, we have motive. We have opportunity.

291. Their social media pages are filled with

292. anti-Nahla Nasar posts.

293. None advocating violence.

294. They're straight-A students. They got no records.

295. Okay, is there any other evidence?

296. Nothing on security cams.

297. No DNA recovered from Nahla's kit.

298. Where are you in all this?

299. I see racism all around.

300. Release them back into the custody of their parents.

301. See if Nahla can make an ID.

302. This was a hate rape.

303. And we all know who is responsible.

304. Is the NYPD afraid of being accused of anti-Semitism?

305. We wanna find who did this as much as you do, trust me.

306. I can assure you, Ms. Cole,

307. there is legislation on my desk to address this issue.

308. You will not be evicted.

309. Bless you. Good day.

310. Detectives. You said you had a lead?

311. Yeah, we need to show you some photos.

312. She told you she didn't see anyone.

313. Aida, let them do their job.

314. But she is right. I didn't see his face.

315. All right, well, let us know

316. if you recognize any of these guys.

317. No.

318. No. No.

319. I'm sorry.

320. Wait... Him.

321. You know him?

322. Not from that night, but the same day.

323. He was protesting outside my office

324. with a group of other students.

325. This boy, he was there too.

326. - You're sure? - I'm positive.

327. This boy grabbed my hijab and spat in my face.

328. These people are Islamophobes.

329. It's in their blood.

330. One of these boys must have raped me.

331. So Ari and Michael were protesting

332. outside of Nahla's office that afternoon

333. and neglected to mention it?

334. They said they thought it'd make them look guilty.

335. - It does. - They also said

336. that Nahla was the one who started the confrontation.

337. So can anyone confirm what happened?

338. We're canvassing the area. Maybe someone saw the incident.

339. Oh, someone definitely saw.

340. Go to MetroBuzz's website.

341. You're an anti-Semite!

342. Stop spitting in my face like some kind of animal.

343. Hey, don't you dare call me an animal!

344. Are you trying to rip off my hijab?

345. - What? - You all saw!

346. An act of aggression,

347. no different than.

348. - Israeli aggression. - You're a liar.

349. - against the Palestinian people! - She's a liar!

350. That was posted an hour ago, along with a report that SVU

351. arrested two Jewish teenagers for the assault on Nahla Nasar.

352. We've made no arrests.

353. Well, someone leaked that you did.

354. Jewish students planning a trip to Israel.

355. Things would have been a lot easier

356. if it was some alt-right thugs.

357. I don't know how I can help you, Detectives.

358. I don't know who raped Nahla Nasar.

359. No? Your newsfeed reported,

360. that we arrested two Jewish teenagers.

361. - So? - So it wasn't true.

362. - Who told you that? - I can't give up my sources.

363. - Your sources are lying. - Look, I get it.

364. You guys are pissed.

365. The NYPD likes to control the narrative.

366. Yeah, especially when somebody's deliberately

367. trying to manipulate that narrative.

368. - Not my problem. - You're a news organization.

369. You're supposed to be interested in the truth,

370. or at least pretend that you are.

371. Turns out, there are a lot of different truths out there.

372. So, any more questions?

373. I got work to do.

374. Yeah, I got a question for you.

375. That video you took outside the city councilwoman's office.

376. Yeah, what about it?

377. So those two teens just happened to be

378. front and center?

379. They spit in her face.

380. They tried to tear off her hijab.

381. That's what we call "newsworthy."

382. And how'd you happen to be

383. right there when it all went down?

384. I guess I just got lucky.

385. Lucky?

386. I've been covering the councilwoman's story.

387. I knew things would get ugly eventually.

388. People always show their true colors.

389. And you'd be right there with your news crew.

390. This video doesn't look good for the boys.

391. They're claiming that she started the whole thing.

392. Excuse me. Please turn this up.

393. This has been going on since I was elected.

394. Of course I'm angry.

395. Half the media is trying

396. to paint me as an anti-Semite.

397. But remember, I was the one who was targeted.

398. These young men descended on my office.

399. I tried to defuse the situation.

400. I went to their synagogue in good faith.

401. And that's where I was sexually assaulted.

402. Well, thank you so much, Councilwoman.

403. It's always so good to speak with you.

404. She's pouring gas on the fire.

405. - Maybe more than that. - What? What do you got?

406. I've been looking at Nahla's office phone records,

407. and I found an outgoing call to MetroBuzz

408. from her desk line at 3:30.

409. Now, look at this.

410. You see the clock tower?

411. The confrontation between the boys and Nahla

412. happened at 4:15.

413. It would take somebody about 20 minutes or so

414. to get from MetroBuzz to Nahla's office,

415. then a few minutes for this whole thing to develop.

416. Okay, so she calls MetroBuzz, alerts them

417. to what's about to go down...

418. she orchestrated the whole thing.

419. A hoax?

420. Maybe that's not the only hoax.

421. You have a break in the case?

422. Well, something has come up in the investigation.

423. Yes?

424. A call was made from your office to MetroBuzz

425. before the confrontation with Ari Kaplan.

426. What are you saying?

427. That you alerted the media

428. and orchestrated the event for maximum exposure.

429. I did not arrange for those students

430. to be harassing me outside my office.

431. Yes, but once you knew they were there,

432. you exploited the situation.

433. Everybody's so worried about the Jews.

434. No, no, look.

435. We're just trying to make sense of things.

436. Right?

437. But why would you call MetroBuzz

438. before anything happened?

439. I'm not the only one with access to my office phone.

440. I have aides, interns...

441. Who would also be motivated

442. to further your political career.

443. I think I see where this is going.

444. Are you suggesting that I am lying

445. about my sexual assault?

446. Absolutely not.

447. You couldn't describe your attacker.

448. Your rape kit was inconclusive.

449. This is an outrageous accusation.

450. I'm wondering if my headscarf has something to do with it.

451. Okay, let's... let's not go there,

452. because that's just not true.

453. Now, what would help clear this up

454. is if you would give our techs access

455. to your phone records.

456. I will do no such thing.

457. I thought the days of police

458. calling rape victims liars were over.

459. I guess I was mistaken.

460. Have the police made any arrests?

461. Mr. Stone, are you charging a hate crime

462. in the assault against Councilwoman Nasar?

463. Why aren't those Jewish kids in custody?

464. Our investigation is ongoing. That's all I have for now.

465. Mr. Stone, one more question.

466. This has taken on a life of its own.

467. Mix rape and religion...

468. Look, Nahla could be hiding something on her cell phone.

469. I'll... I'll get a subpoena.

470. That's just gonna play into her account

471. that she's the one being persecuted.

472. So grab whatever phone records

473. you can from her service provider,

474. and in the meantime, I'll go after MetroBuzz.

475. Okay.

476. How'd you get MetroBuzz to give you the whole tape?

477. Didn't they argue First Amendment?

478. They did, but the judge agreed with me.

479. He said it was a staged publicity stunt

480. and not a protected act of journalism.

481. There she is!

482. Anti-Semite!

483. Anti-Semite!

484. Instead of going home, she headed

485. straight into the hornet's nest.

486. Why? Why are you all harassing me?

487. Why do you say these hateful things against the Jews?

488. Well, why do you sanction genocide

489. - against the Palestinian people? - We don't!

490. Nobody here thinks that!

491. You are the ones that want to push us into the sea.

492. Who's paying you to come down here, huh?

493. The Zionists from AIPAC?

494. - You're all not real Americans. - I'm a Jewish American.

495. Oh, so it's all about the Benjamins, then, isn't it?

496. She's taunting him.

497. You're an anti-Semite!

498. Stop spitting in my face like some kind of animal.

499. Hey, don't you dare call me an animal!

500. Are you trying to rip off my hijab?

501. - What? - Oh, my God.

502. It's no wonder they only posted

503. the second half of the confrontation.

504. Coded hate speech aside, this is overt provocation.

505. Yeah, and MetroBuzz is making her look like the victim.

506. But Ari retaliates by raping her?

507. You saw the rage in his eyes.

508. Or she hired someone to stage the assault.

509. If that's the case, she'll be going in handcuffs.

510. Rob Miller's attorney served me

511. with a subpoena last night at home.

512. - He's trying to intimidate you. - Trying?

513. He's already had a State Trooper pull me over

514. with Noah in the car.

515. Nikki Staines is terrified. She won't testify.

516. He raped her and he's gonna get away with it.

517. Let me worry about Rob Miller.

518. Right now, the mayor needs to know

519. we're making progress with Nahla Nasar.

520. - We're working on it. - Work faster.

521. I haven't had a chance to ask you before,

522. - you read the memo? - I did.

523. I assume if you had an issue with it,

524. you would have let me know.

525. Yes, I would have.

526. - Rollins. - Chief.

527. You okay?

528. Just tell me you have something with.

529. Councilwoman Nasar's case.

530. Yeah, Verizon finally turned over her call logs.

531. - Anything interesting? - Nothing on the day in question.

532. But the night before,

533. there's a hell of a lot of calls

534. to a certain 917 number.

535. So if the story is fabricated,

536. this could be her accomplice.

537. Phone's registered in the name of Tracy Larson.

538. It's 111 Birkenhoff Street.

539. Meow Mix 2.0. You know what this is, right?

540. - Pet store? - Far from it.

541. Oh.

542. Trying to talk to Tracy Larson.

543. Tracy's the owner. She's not here right now.

544. Well, where can we find her?

545. What's this about?

546. It's police business.

547. Well, that's kind of vague, don't you think?

548. You know, I'm kinda thirsty.

549. Yeah, yeah. We should just post up here.

550. She'll probably be here in a minute.

551. Give us a couple of drinks. Two club sodas.

552. Yeah, can I get some extra lime? See, I love limes.

553. If I knew where Tracy was, I'd tell you.

554. Hey, miss, can I get a Hendricks martini,

555. extra dirty, please?

556. Please don't out me.

557. If you do, my professional life is pretty much over.

558. So this whole hijab Muslim thing is just for show?

559. It didn't start out that way,

560. but then I met Tracy and everything changed.

561. We've been together for a year.

562. So this is where you go, huh?

563. The women here, I trust them.

564. Promise me you'll do the same.

565. If my parents were to ever find out...

566. Your sexual orientation is none of our business.

567. Unless it affects your case.

568. I swear to you, it doesn't.

569. So she's gay and an observant Muslim.

570. - Why can't she be both? - Fine.

571. Just don't run for office and lie about who you are.

572. Well, this is not just political.

573. Growing up unconventional in a devout family,

574. that's gonna be tough in any religion.

575. If we were in Iraq, they'd throw her off a roof.

576. Okay, where are we with the family? What do we know?

577. Well, we had no reason to do

578. a full court press, we were locked in on

579. - the political angle. - Okay, so get on that.

580. So we just gonna drop the ball at Ari Kaplan?

581. Look, we have a new piece of the puzzle.

582. She's a devout Muslim by day,

583. she lives a completely different life at night.

584. Let's see how the pieces fit.

585. My wife and I came here from Syria 40 years ago.

586. Nahla was born a few years after we arrived.

587. We are very proud of her.

588. Nahla majored in foreign relations at Dartmouth.

589. She worked in a think tank in Washington

590. before she ran for office here.

591. And mashallah, she stayed in the faith.

592. And Nahla's always been religious?

593. Well, not always.

594. In high school here in Brooklyn,

595. she wanted to fit in.

596. She started to wear the hijab after she met Masud.

597. Her ex-husband.

598. How long have they been divorced for?

599. Two years or so.

600. But it was very amicable.

601. Masud, he wanted a large family, and...

602. Nahla wasn't ready.

603. She wanted to focus on her career.

604. We'd like to talk to Masud,

605. if he's still living in New York.

606. Is that appropriate?

607. I mean, they're no longer married.

608. We'll be very discreet.

609. I read about what happened to Nahla in the papers.

610. Terrible what these people did to her.

611. How is she holding up?

612. These things can be difficult.

613. Look, I wanted to reach out to her, but...

614. I didn't know what to say.

615. And I didn't think she'd want to hear from me.

616. Nahla's parents told us that you two separated

617. because she wasn't ready to have kids.

618. Well, that's what we told them.

619. So there's more to it.

620. Nahla and I, we, uh, grew apart.

621. We weren't on the same page, romantically.

622. Look, I still love Nahla,

623. but in my heart I know,

624. it was best to let her move on.

625. Hmm.

626. The, um, the night that this... this all happened to Nahla,

627. do you mind telling us where you were?

628. Here. All day, every day.

629. I close at 8:00, and I walk home to Ozone Park.

630. Mm. Okay.

631. Thank you.

632. Whoa, what's up?

633. That guy's a stone-cold liar, that's what's up.

634. I mean, there's no way he was at the flower shop

635. on the day of the rape.

636. How do you know?

637. 'Cause I clocked him as one of the bystanders

638. in the MetroBuzz video.

639. When he was there, he saw the whole thing go down.

640. Anti-Semite!

641. - Freeze it. - Anti...

642. Zoom in. Zoom, right there.

643. Right there,

644. the guy in the green jacket and the brown beanie.

645. That's him. That's Masud.

646. Okay, so can you put him at the synagogue?

647. I got TARU to track his cell phone,

648. but it was at his flower shop all night.

649. He was smart enough to not have it on him.

650. So canvass the neighborhood around the synagogue,

651. and I'll talk to Nahla.

652. I haven't seen Masud,

653. since I moved out two years ago.

654. He hasn't tried to contact you?

655. - No. - Actually, that's not true.

656. He's been here three times in the last few months.

657. I made him leave.

658. Why didn't you tell me?

659. I didn't want to upset you.

660. - With everything else going on... - Aida.

661. He stopped coming after I told him

662. I was going to call the cops.

663. But I'm... I'm pretty sure I did see him

664. waiting outside one day last week.

665. He was stalking me.

666. Nahla, we have an older woman who was coming home

667. from grocery shopping who puts

668. Masud outside the synagogue

669. the night that you were attacked.

670. Is there anywhere else he could've followed you?

671. Where?

672. Aida, I'm sorry,

673. but would you... would you mind giving us the room?

674. Sure.

675. Could he have followed you to Morgan's bar?

676. I don't know.

677. Why would he go to...

678. About a month ago,

679. Tracy told me that

680. a man walked into the bar.

681. He looked around, realized where he was,

682. and then he spat on the floor and left.

683. - She say what he looked like? - No.

684. But there is a DOT camera

685. at the intersection near the bar.

686. All right, thank you.

687. Put a teaspoon of sugar in the water

688. when you get home, and these will open up

689. in a day or two.

690. No, no, no, no, no, no,

691. whatever you're thinking, Masud, that is a big mistake.

692. - Come on, get out. - Get out of here.

693. Put those back, put your hands where I can see 'em,

694. and get out from behind that counter.

695. - Let's go. - Why?

696. Why?

697. Because you are being arrested for rape.

698. Nahla accused me?

699. - What, are you surprised? - Not in the least.

700. She hates men.

701. I don't know about that,

702. but I'm pretty sure she hates you.

703. Everybody in New York despises me

704. or thinks I'm a liar.

705. My family is gonna be in that courtroom.

706. I could lose them, my job...

707. I don't know if this is worth it.

708. You were raped, Nahla.

709. And you deserve justice,

710. no matter how many mistakes you made along the way.

711. But people have lost faith in me.

712. Because they don't know you.

713. And this is your chance to tell them who you are,

714. to tell them your truth.

715. You can do this.

716. And I'm gonna be right behind you.

717. I was alone in the synagogue.

718. I felt a blow to the back of my head.

719. I fell to the ground.

720. My hijab was torn off.

721. I was raped.

722. Ms. Nasar, what did you tell the police

723. after you were assaulted?

724. That I didn't see the man who raped me.

725. And now?

726. I know it was my ex-husband, Masud Faraj.

727. Why is that?

728. The police told me that he had found out

729. that I was a lesbian.

730. I know he assaulted me because he felt like

731. I had violated his honor.

732. But at first, you didn't recognize him.

733. Because we hadn't been intimate in years.

734. So how do you know it was him?

735. The rapist grabbed my hair with his right hand

736. and pulled it hard as he was assaulting me.

737. It was the same thing my ex-husband used to do

738. when he had sex.

739. I now know it was Masud.

740. Thank you.

741. Ms. Nasar, did you tell police,

742. your assailant grabbed your hair?

743. I didn't remember at the time.

744. You only remembered after police told you

745. my client was a suspect?

746. It didn't occur to me that Masud was even...

747. In fact, at first, you thought your rapist

748. was a boy wearing a MAGA hat.

749. My aide told me that there was a witness who put a boy...

750. And then later, you told police

751. that two Jewish boys had raped you.

752. - I did, but I recanted that... - The two Jewish boys

753. you had baited into a

754. confrontation earlier that day.

755. - I shouldn't have done that. - The confrontation was a hoax.

756. Isn't it true the police thought your rape

757. was also a hoax?

758. They now know I was assaulted.

759. But you did lie to police several times,

760. not to mention lying about being gay.

761. Isn't it true this whole charade is a hoax

762. intended to raise your political profile,

763. to gain sympathy...

764. - Objection! - Sustained.

765. I thought I had to hide that part of my life.

766. - I was afraid... - Nothing further.

767. I am here at risk of losing my family's love,

768. my career, everything.

769. But I am not afraid anymore.

770. I wasn't stalking Nahla.

771. I was worried about her safety.

772. She'd been getting death threats.

773. I would stop by her office to check on her.

774. And the synagogue?

775. I wasn't there.

776. What about the witness?

777. White people in that neighborhood think

778. all Muslims look alike.

779. I'm used to it.

780. I wish I had followed her.

781. I could have saved her.

782. Mr. Faraj, did you know your ex-wife was a lesbian?

783. Yes.

784. It was painful at first.

785. But I love her, and I would never hurt her.

786. So you love your ex-wife.

787. You were just protecting her.

788. Yes.

789. You never asked Nahla if she wanted protection, did you?

790. No.

791. So she didn't have a choice.

792. Sounds more like stalking than love to me.

793. - Objection. - Withdrawn.

794. Mr. Faraj, when you spit on the ground,

795. in front of your ex-wife's female lover,

796. was that love too?

797. No, that was wrong.

798. Why? Because you were angry? Jealous?

799. You don't understand. She was my wife.

800. Your ex-wife.

801. Yes.

802. Sorry, I'm having difficulty hearing you.

803. She is your ex-wife, correct?

804. Yes.

805. And Sharia law doesn't recognize divorce,

806. not under the American legal system.

807. - Isn't that right? - Yes.

808. That must've been very difficult

809. for you to accept, being a conservative Muslim.

810. Not like Nahla, who takes off her hijab

811. whenever she feels like it and sleeps with random women.

812. - Objection. - Overruled.

813. You follow Sharia law, Mr. Faraj?

814. Yes.

815. Sharia law states that homosexuality is immoral.

816. "If any of your women are guilty of lewdness,"

817. "take the evidence of four reliable witnesses from amongst them,"

818. "and if they testify, confine them"

819. "to houses until..." what?

820. Mr. Faraj, I know you know the answer.

821. - Objection, Your Honor. - Mr. Faraj, until what?

822. What is the answer?

823. "Until death do claim them." I should have killed her.

824. Instead of just assaulting and raping her?

825. Why didn't you kill her?

826. Because she is my wife!

827. Nothing further.

828. You wear a red baseball cap,

829. civilized society assumes you're a racist,

830. a bigot of the worst order.

831. A teenager runs out of a synagogue,

832. we assume he's an anti-Semite reliving

833. the bliss of Kristallnacht.

834. A Muslim woman is brutally attacked.

835. We have no choice but to assume the animal was an Islamophobe.

836. But, in this case...

837. the teenager was running because he was scared.

838. The brutal attacker was not Jewish.

839. Clearly, each and every one of those assumptions

840. were dead wrong.

841. So if you're tempted to assume Ms. Nasar was raped

842. by her former husband because it was mandated

843. by some medieval Koranic code...

844. shame on you.

845. What Ms. Ziegler just lambasted weren't assumptions.

846. They were hate-filled stereotypes.

847. So what do we know?

848. We know that Nahla Nasar is a lesbian.

849. We know that her former husband knew it too.

850. We know that his religion tells him

851. that homosexuality is immoral

852. and punishable by death.

853. We know he was at the scene of the crime

854. at the time the crime was committed,

855. and we know that Ms. Nasar ID'd him as her rapist.

856. We know that. Those are the facts.

857. That's what we know.

858. Now, what do we do?

859. We look at those facts,

860. and we assume he raped her.

861. It's okay.

862. That's the way our system works.

863. Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?

864. We have, Your Honor.

865. In the charge of rape in the second degree,

866. we find the defendant guilty.

867. Thank you, both of you.

868. Best of luck to you, Ms. Nasar.

869. How are you doing?

870. Wondering if I can find the strength

871. to come back from this.

872. You already have it.

873. No more secrets, Nahla. You're free now.

874. Excuse me.

875. Mama... Baba...

876. Habibti.

877. We are still proud of you.

878. And you are wrong.

879. You haven't lost your family's love.

880. - You're a disgrace!

881. Allah will punish you!

882. - How dare you? - Are you okay?

883. Hey. Are you okay?

884. You have no right!

885. I want spaghetti.

886. You always want spaghetti.

887. I like spaghetti.

888. Should I order something else?

889. No, honey, you have whatever makes you happy.

890. Mom.

891. Yeah? You see a waiter?

892. No, but there's a man watching us.

893. What man?

894. Lieutenant Benson, nice to see you.

895. What are you doing here?

896. This must be your son. Noah?

897. Are you a friend of my mom's?

898. I am, a good friend.

899. I'm Rob. Nice to meet you.