Muslim Student Yasmin Seweid Lied About NYC Trump Supporter Train Attack To Avoid Curfew Punishment
A New York City college student who said she was harassed by Donald Trump supporters on an IRT No. 6 train now says that it never actually happened.
Eighteen-year-old Yasmin Seweid received nationwide attention last week following her supposed ordeal, which allegedly saw drunken racist men berating her Muslim heritage, while screaming “Donald Trump!” and threatening to forcefully remove her hijab, as noted by the New York Daily News. Instead, Seweid tearfully admitted to police on Wednesday that she had, in fact, been out drinking with friends, which caused her to miss a parental-ordered curfew.
Muslim Teen Admits She Lied About Being Attacked by Trump Supporters #KellyFile https://t.co/3MzEQPDTyG pic.twitter.com/1x3SafL1AJ
— FoxNewsInsider (@FoxNewsInsider) December 15, 2016
“Nothing happened,” a source connected to the NYPD stated, “and there was no victim.”
From the very start, those looking into Yasmin Seweid’s claims say that her story seemed shaky, but certain inconsistencies in her recounting of the alleged December 1 incident were attributed to her supposed traumatic mindset.
Things only got more peculiar for investigators, however, as things went on, mostly due to there somehow being no witnesses to the attack, which was said to have taken place at populous Grand Central Terminal, or any video captured by lodged surveillance cameras, also located in the station.
On December 3, just two days after the supposed “attack,” Seweid disappeared without warning from her parents’ New Hyde Park home in Long Island. She would turn up safe and sound just 24 hours later, but her actions threw several red flags up for police.
On Wednesday, December 14, they inquired again about what actually took place on that fateful night, and with no other options, Yasmin finally came clean to detectives.
“She had numerous opportunities to admit nothing happened [before then],” the source stated, “and she kept sticking by her story.”
NYPD insiders have specified that one reason for her tall tale may have to do with Seweid’s Egyptian-born parents being notably — and now noticeably — strict. Because of her recent antic, as well as a discordance regarding Yasmin’s choice to date a man who is Christian, a previously threatened shearing of Yasmin’s locks was revealed to have taken place.
Appearing Thursday morning with the troubled teen at a Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment was Seweid’s father, Syeed, who refused to defend his daughter’s actions.
“I have no idea [why she did this],” he remarked. “She’s the one that can speak for herself.”
Attorney Albert Cahn, who works for the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, hopes that Seweid’s lies won’t hinder Muslims from reporting legitimate claims of bias and harassment.
“We’re very disturbed by these distressing developments,” Mr. Cahn admits, “but we hope that they do not detract from the numerous reports coming from the Muslim community.
“Clearly this has been a trying time for her and her family. We hope that they receive all possible support in this moving forward. We still believe that anti-Muslim attacks are under-reported.”
Incidentally, Seweid isn’t the only person in her family who has lied about a race-related crime before. Back in 2012, her then-17-year-old brother filed a false police report saying that a friend had been “assaulted by three unknown males.” Just as with his sister, his lies would go national, being picked up by several publications, including Newsday.
Yazmin Seweid lied to the media, thus the world, about an attack on her for "being Muslim." It never happened. She been arrested. pic.twitter.com/zpTbILUxFR
— Caroline Craig David (@CarolineCDavid) December 15, 2016
Ultimately, it would be discovered that along with three of his friends, Abdoul Seweid had been breaking into cars and stealing any valuable that they could find. He was subsequently charged with grand larceny and conspiracy, as well as filing a false claim.
Yasmin now faces several charges, including filing a police report, which holds a one-year jail sentence. The others were not directly noted in the original Daily News piece, but are said to also hold a year each in possible jail time.
[Featured Image by artisteer/iStock]
