Davis Island man pleads guilty after hateful rant against Muslim family

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Ali Kaderbhai had never faced the kind of hate he and his family experienced while looking at real estate in a Davis Island neighborhood.

In November 2016, Ali and his wife were set to buy a home on Davis Island.

They had one final walk-through when a neighbor, David Howard marched across the street and began spewing threats, hate, and intimidation.

According to court documents, Howard yelled expletives while saying "this sale will not take place."

"I will break all your [expletive] windows and I will burn your [expletive] house down. You are not welcome here," Howard yelled.

The threats worked. Ali and his family ran to their cars and drove off.

"I'm so deeply pained right now," said Ali. "This has been a very traumatic journey for me and my family."

Tuesday in federal court, Howard pled guilty to interfering with housing rights. He also admitted to investigators that he did not want Muslims living across the street from him.

Howard also admitted he later made insulting remarks about Muslims to his neighbors.

Hassen Shibly, with the National Council for Islamic Relations, says he is glad to see the Government taking action.

"Someone who is supposed to be your neighbor comes and attacks you simply because of your religion, simply because of your ethnicity, and spews such hatred against you and threatens to burn your new house down," Shibly said. "It's very important that the court sends a strong message that hate crimes will not be tolerated."

As for Ali and his family, they have moved to a different neighborhood, but the trauma of that day is still fresh.

"This should not happen to anyone because it impacts not only us but our kids, the future generation to come because they see us as a role model being more tolerant of each other," explained Ali. 

Howard faces up to 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced by this summer.