HAMTRAMCK (WWJ) -- More than 215,000 signatures have been collected in an online petition demanding the removal of a Hamtramck district judge after she shamed a 72-year-old cancer patient for failing to maintain his lawn.
During a court hearing over Zoom on Jan. 10 for his $100 fine, Burhan Chowdery told Judge Alexis G. Krot that he was unable to keep up with his yard work because his cancer treatments made him weak.
Krot responded by shouting at Chowdery that he should be "ashamed" of himself.
"If I could give you jail time on this, I would," said Krot.
The creator of the change.org petition, Anjam Uddin, said Krot has a history of being "bigoted" towards immigrants.
Uddin told WWJ that it doesn't make sense for someone to be in power in a city where the majority of the population is immigrants if you hold a bias towards them.
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"If it can happen to him [Chowdery], it can happen to my mom," said Uddin. "Seeing that [the Zoom hearing] captured on video outraged me"
Along with the Change.org petition, Uddin also created a Launch Good campaign online to help the family pay for medical and home care expenses
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Krot was appointed to the bench by former Governor Rick Snyder in 2016 and was reelected in 2020 after running unopposed.
To sign the online petition, click here.
To donate to Chowdery's medical and home expenses, click here.