Two Muslim women are suing the Orange County Sheriff's Department, claiming that deputies forced them to remove their hijabs during a pro-Palestinian protest at UC Irvine last year.
The attorneys for Salma Nasoordeen and Shanei Aini filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the department. The two women said that on May 15th, 2024, they were peacefully protesting at UCI when they were swept up during mass arrests. They allege deputies commanded them to remove their hijabs.
Salma recalled the shock she felt in the moment.
“I've never in my life had to remove my hijab for any government identification photos, my ID, my passport, none of that,” she said. “I kept thinking to myself, ‘Is this really happening? Is this allowed? Is this different because I'm in jail? Do I really not have the right to keep it on here?’ Yet the words that were fed to me were, the faster you do this, the faster you can get out of here.”
Shanei claimed a deputy “deliberately stomped on and ripped off” her hijab.
“Due to the actions of the OCS deputy, my exposed hair was broadcasted to the world to see,” she said. “In the process of being bucked, I was forced to be exposed in the view of males and have my photo taken without my hijab against my will. A year later, I am still deeply affected. I still hear my pleas to be covered. Along with flashbacks reminding me that my religion was disrespected and I was spiritually harmed in any religious community our head coverings are not political statements. This was an attack not only on myself but every Muslim woman on that day.”
Their lawyers are asking the court to declare the O.C. Sheriff’s Department violated the women’s religious rights, to stop the practice of forcing Muslim women to remove their hijabs in custody, and to implement policy reforms and training. They’re also seeking monetary damages and the removal of any uncovered booking photos.
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The O.C. Sheriff’s Department sent the following statement:
On May 15, 2024, the Orange County Sheriff's Department assisted the UCI Police Department as part of a county-wide mutual aid response to the University of California, Irvine. After the UCI Police declared an unlawful assembly, various law enforcement agencies helped enforce the dispersal order, resulting in several arrests for criminal offenses.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department upholds individuals' rights to protest lawfully and peace-fully, as well as the First Amendment right to religious freedom. Unfortunately, the account of events shared in the press conference is misleading and inaccurate.
Specifically, no women were required to remove their hijabs in front of male employees or male members of the public. Women were asked to privately remove their hijabs only once while inside the jail facility for a booking photo, and this occurred with only female deputies present. No force was used during this process; the women voluntarily removed their hijabs for the photo and immediately put them back on before leaving the private area. Jail security video from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department documented the booking process.
Additionally, booking photos are not publicly releasable records under the California Public Records Act, and the Orange County Sheriff's Department has not released any of the booking photos of the women involved.
Unfortunately, false and divisive statements made to the public only serve to undermine trust and incite fear. The Orange County Sheriff's Department actively collaborates with various religious groups to foster strong community partnerships, and has established conscientious policies and procedures to balance the constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals to express their religious beliefs with the need to maintain safety and security in our custodial facilities.
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