Muslim activist Linda Sarsour arrested at US women's day rally
New York City police arrested Muslim American activist Linda Sarsour and other organisers at a “Day Without Women” demonstration in front of a Trump Hotel on Wednesday.
Sarsour was detained along with Women’s March advocates Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez and Bob Bland. The group had called for a general strike on International Women’s Day.
The demonstrators aimed to gather around the Trump building on New York's Fifth Avenue, the Huffington Post reported. When police ordered the protesters to clear the street or face arrest, some activists, including Sarsour, continued the protest as an act of “civil disobedience”.
Police said 13 protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct.
The Women’s March Twitter account called for a rally in front of Manhattan’s Seventh Police Precinct in support of the detained organisers.
Sarsour and the other organisers were released, one by one, several hours later.
“I feel empowered, I feel proud of what I did today and I’ve done this many times before. ... I hope it sends a message to people that you’ve got to risk it, you’ve got to be bold in this moment,” she told Huffington Post.
Thousands of demonstrators, mostly women, had rallied in New York and Washington to protest against President Donald Trump's policies toward women.
From the podium, Sarsour and a range of other community activists had encouraged demonstrators to "keep resisting" and "keep motivated".
In Washington, at Lafayette Park across from the White House, many of the several hundred demonstrators carried signs decrying Trump's order blocking US aid to foreign nonprofits that provide or actively promote abortions.
"Donald Trump has got to go!" and "This is what democracy looks like!" the crowd chanted.
Plenty of anger was also directed at other Trump administration policies, including the travel ban on six Muslim-majority countries and a crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
A video posted by A Plus reporter Isaac Paul showed Sarsour in handcuffs being led away from the crowd by a police officer after she was arrested. She was wearing a red hijab in observance of International Women’s Day.
Sarsour was one of the organisers of the Women’s March, a movement of coordinated nation-wide protests against Trump that started on the day after his inauguration.
Late in January, Sarsour faced an orchestrated Islamophobic campaign from right-wing websites accusing her of ties to militant groups.
Some social media users gloated over Sarsour’s arrest, calling her pro-Sharia. Others called for the activist’s release.
Stay informed with MEE's newsletters
Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
