Washington, Oct 29 (IANS) A 21-year-old man in Helena, the capital of the US state of Montana, has been charged with a felony for allegedly shoving a man of Indian descent and telling him to "go back to his country", according to court documents cited by local media.

Jaxton Tayte Collins appeared for arraignment on October 27 in Lewis and Clark County District Court, the Helena Independent Record reported in a story carried by the Billings Gazette. He is charged with malicious intimidation or harassment.

According to the affidavit, the complainant told officers he was walking with friends in downtown Helena when a man in an orange shirt and wearing a large cross necklace approached his friend, "who is of Indian descent and wears a head covering".

The man, later identified as Collins, allegedly shoved the friend with both hands and "told him to go back to his country", according to the court documents.

Witnesses told officers the incident was "frightening" and described it as an "attack", the report said.

When more officers arrived, they found Collins nearby. He told them he had been drinking at a downtown bar and admitted that after leaving, he shouted at the victim "to go back to his own country because he was angry", the affidavit states. Collins denied shoving the victim.

Under Montana law, a person commits malicious intimidation or harassment when, because of another person's "race, creed, religion, colour, national origin, or involvement in civil rights or human rights activities", the person purposely or knowingly, with intent to "terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy, or offend", causes bodily injury, causes reasonable apprehension of bodily injury, or damages property.

A person convicted of the offence "shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 5 years or be fined an amount not to exceed $5,000, or both," according to Section 45-5-221 of the Montana Code Annotated.

The case adds to a series of reported incidents targeting people of Indian and South Asian origin in the United States this year, which community groups have linked to rising anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Montana has a small Indian American population.

--IANS

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