Louisiana Woman Wearing Hijab Claims To Have Been Beaten And Robbed By Man Wearing Trump Hat

UPDATE: According to The Washington Post, the woman fabricated the story of the attack.

A University of Louisiana at Lafayette student says she was beaten and robbed, and her hijab torn off of her head, by two men, one of whom was wearing a Donald Trump hat, the New Orleans Times-Picayune is reporting.

According to campus police reports and Lafayette city police reports, the woman, whose name has not been released, says she was walking in a residential area near the University when a gray four-door sedan pulled up beside her. Two white males jumped out; one of them struck her with a metal object, and she fell to the ground. As she was on the ground, the men hit her, stole her wallet, and tore off her hijab.

One of the men was wearing a Donald Trump hat.

The woman declined medical attention, according to the Huffington Post.

While it is not known for certain if the victim was Muslim, the fact that she was wearing a hijab seems to indicate that she was. The hijab, or head scarf, is a garment traditionally worn by some Muslim women.

Kareem Attia, the president of the Muslim Student Association at the University, is shocked that such a crime could happen at UL-Lafayette.

“No one wants this to happen, and it’s hitting home for us. The idea that a person in your community could be targeted just for wearing a headscarf, which is part of our religion, it’s disgusting. It’s very un-American.”

The attack near the University of Louisiana at Lafayette was one of two anti-Muslim hate crimes known to have taken place at an American university on the day after Donald Trump was elected president.

In California, according to the New York Times, a woman wearing a hijab says that as she was walking towards her car near San Diego State University when two men approached her and began “making statements” about Muslims and Latinos, although it is not clear what they allegedly said. She says that the men took her backpack and car keys and then fled. She went to the campus police to make a complaint; when she came back, her car was gone.

University president Elliot Hirshman, the vice president for student affairs Eric Rivera, and San Diego interim police chief Josh Mays issued a joint statement condemning the attack.

“We condemn this hateful act, and urge all members of our community to join us in condemning such hateful acts.Hate crimes are destructive to the spirit of our campus, and we urge all members of our community to stand together in rejecting hate.”

The attacks come in the wake of the death of Hussain Saeed Alnahdi, a Saudi Arabian Muslim student at the University of Wisconsin who was attacked and killed outside of a pizza restaurant in October.

Meanwhile, at New York University’s Muslim Student Association, the group reported that they showed up at their designated prayer room only to find the word “Trump” scrawled on the door.

Back in Louisiana, Joseph Savoie, the president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, sent a message to students, calling on them to rise above the hate.

“University campuses are places where men and women of all races and religions should be able to exchange ideas and learn from one another. We grow as human beings by listening to others who have different backgrounds and experiences. The University strives to provide an environment that nurtures healthy discourse.”

As of this writing, police have no suspects in the attack.

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