Some apartment residents in Auburn could face hate-crime charges after a Muslim couple claimed they were subjected to racial taunts and threats.

Kenneth Post, a Muslim convert, and his Yemeni wife, Raihanah Alsameai, said other residents in their building began intimidating them after they moved in earlier this month. Post said his wife is afraid of dogs and that a neighbor's pit bull lunged at her and chased her. He said the situation grew worse when neighbors shouted, "What's your religion?" and "Are you a Taliban?"

Police escorted the couple from the building and checked them into a hotel while also serving protection orders on three of the tenants. No charges were filed, but police asked the state attorney general's office to look into whether hate-crime charges should be filed. [Link]