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Numerous Hate Crimes Post-Election Against Women Wearing Hijabs, Attackers Invoking Trump

By Jessica Dafoe
Published on: 06:57 PST, Nov 10, 2016

Since Donald Trump was named as president-elect, there have been a number of attacks that have been labeled as hate crimes by authorities involving attackers who have commented on the elected president’s victory during the assaults.

A Muslim student at a San Diego State University was robbed and had her car stolen on Wednesday by two men who made remarks about Trump and Muslims. In a separate incident on Wednesday, another female student of the University of Louisiana was beaten and robbed. She also had her hijab ripped from her head. One of the men was wearing a white Trump hat, according to authorities.

Both attacks occurred on the same day within hours of each other. That day also sparked protests across the nation after the election of Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The Washington Post shares the following details about the first of the two mentioned attacks.

“The SDSU student was walking to her car around 2:30 p.m. when two men accosted her in the stairwell of a campus parking building and ‘made comments about President-elect Donald Trump and the Muslim community,’ campus police said in a statement. The men grabbed the woman’s purse and backpack, and removed her car keys before fleeing, police said. The woman, who was not injured, left the area to report the attack, according to police, who said the car was missing when they arrived on the scene.”

The suspects were described as white males between the ages of 20 and 25. The SDSU Muslim Association has relayed that the victim was a black Muslim student who was wearing a hijab and full Islamic attire. The organization is planning a demonstration and protest next week over Trump’s victory due to his campaign having encouraged anti-Muslim sentiments.

The group released a statement about the attacks via their Facebook page.

“We are calling on all students, faculty, staff, and community members to come and show solidarity with our sister that was attacked and also stand against anti-Blackness, Islamophobia, and all other forms of discrimination that have become increasingly normalized during the campaign and now election of Donald Trump. It is time we make it clear that the hate and racism of Donald Trump will not find a home in San Diego.”

The second of the two events occurred only a few hours earlier in the day in Louisiana and was strikingly similar. Around 11 a.m., a student of the university was walking down the street when two white males attacked her, hitting her with a metal object and knocking her to the ground. They then ripped her hijab off and took her wallet. Authorities said they used ugly language, but she has not shared their exact words.

The separate incidents in San Diego and Louisiana come only two weeks following the assault and murder of a Saudi Arabian student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. There were claims that the attack on the 24-year-old may have also been a hate crime, yet police have not identified the motive and have not named the suspect.

Many similar attacks occurred prior to Tuesday’s election. Throughout the course of his campaign, Trump voiced his favor in regard to banning, deporting, and the use of extreme vetting of Muslims attempting to enter the United States. There has been a surge in hate crimes since the president-elect’s proposals and condemnation repeatedly targeted Muslims. Many critics have since accused Trump of “normalizing anti-Islamic sentiment,” as the publication states.

As noted, protests have been widespread across the nation in opposition to President-elect Donald Trump while the hashtag #notmypresident has begun to trend on social media.

[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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