Trump's victory followed by wave of hate crime attacks against minorities across US

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Police are investigating a wave of alleged hate crimes against Muslims, Hispanic Americans, black people, ethnic minorities and the LGBT community in the wake of the US election.

Attackers professing support for Donald Trump have been accused of numerous attacks in the 24 hours following his shock victory, including death threats, physical assaults and racist graffiti.

Among the incidents is the alleged robbery of a Muslim student at San Diego State University by two men who “made comments about President-elect Donald Trump and the Muslim community”, before stealing her purse, rucksack and car.

“Comments made to the student indicate she was targeted because of her Muslim faith, including her wearing of a traditional garment and hijab,” police said in a statement.

The SDSU Muslim Student Association said the victim was a black Muslim student wearing full Islamic dress, and is planning a demonstration against “anti-Blackness, Islamophobia, and all other forms of discrimination that have become increasingly normalised during the campaign and now election of Donald Trump”.

Several Muslim women have reported Trump supporters attempting to rip off their hijabs, which cover the hair, while others said their families have advised them to stop wearing headscarves in fear of further attacks.

Maha Abdul Gawad said she was shopping in a local Wallmart on Wednesday when another woman approached, pulled off her hijab and said: “This is not allowed anymore, so go hang yourself with it around your neck not on your head.”

Numerous incidents were also reported in schools, with students saying Muslim girls had taken off their hijabs to avoid abuse or had them forcibly removed, and teachers describing comforting crying children afraid their families would be deported.

Mackenzie Rae, from Washington, shared a message she received from a friend who works at a high school in Kansas on Wednesday.

It said: “We have two kids wearing Trump shirts pull a hijab off a Muslim girl today at school. OSS [out-of-school suspension] for five days.

“When asked why? ‘Because she’s about to get kicked out anyway and we won.’”

A spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations told The Independent there were “tremendous levels of fear given the anti-Muslim rhetoric we have seen from Donald Trump during this campaign”.

“This rhetoric is nothing new,” he added. “What is new is how far he has gone with it. That is the shocking thing.”

There have also been numerous reports of black people being verbally and physically abused by people expressing support for the President-elect.

Natasha, a student from the Christian Baylor University in Texas, said she was walking home from a class when a man shoved her off the pavement.

Many victims were documenting their experiences on Facebook, with a black woman in Bloomington, Indiana, describing how she was talking into a shop when white men in a passing lorry hurled abuse.

Bart Becker, the principal of Maple Grove Senior High School, wrote a letter to students and parents saying the “serious and disturbing racial incident” was under investigation.

“This incident is additional evidence of the pressing need in our schools, our community and our nation to find ways to talk about race constructively and respectfully,” he added.


On Thursday, a major Muslim advocacy group in the US called on Trump to repudiate alleged hate crime attacks on Muslim students across the country.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) also called on Muslims who believe their rights have been violated to contact police for further inquiry.

Meanwhile, protests have been held for a second night in several major US cities after the election of Trump.

The protesters expressed their anger and sadness at the shocking victory of Trump by putting his effigies on fire in New York, Los Angeles, Oakland, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington and other cities.



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