Black Muslim Woman Forced To Remove Hijab Or Be 'Incarcerated Indefinitely'
A Muslim woman in Tennessee sued the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office for demanding she remove her hijab for a mugshot, which violates her religious beliefs.
WSMV reports that Sophia Johnston’s lawsuit alleges that compelling her to remove the head cover for Muslim women is a violation of Tennessee’s Preservation of Religious Freedom Act.
According to Johnston, a deputy pulled her over on Aug. 23 for a broken taillight and discovered that she had an outstanding warrant from 2017 for driving on a suspended license. Johnston denied knowing about the warrant but was arrested and taken into custody. During the intake process, the deputies ordered Johnston to remove her hijab for a mugshot..
When she declined to remove her hijab for religious reasons, the deputies warned that they would put her in jail if she failed to comply, Johnston stated.
“When Mrs. Johnston refused, [Rutherford County] intake officer [Kaitlynn Laird] informed Mrs. Johnston that she would be incarcerated indefinitely until she complied,” the lawsuit reads, according to Law & Crime. “Because Mrs. Johnston is a mother of eight children and could not afford to be incarcerated indefinitely, she relented under strenuous protest.”
Recalling her ordeal, Johnston told WSMV, “I was confused. I felt like I was in an unknown place. I was scared, I felt very naked because as a Muslim woman, our hijab is our protection,” she said, adding that only the men in her family have seen her without her hijab.
Ultimately, Johnston said she complied to get home to her husband and children.
Johnston’s lawyer Daniel Horwitz said the deputies’ actions were a clear violation of state law.
“Citizens have a right to practice their religion without unreasonable governmental interference, and it is unacceptable that any government entity would contravene those rights, especially given the robust protections that Tennessee, in particular, affords them,” Horwitz told Law & Crime.
Johnston believes the deputies wanted to break her spirit.
“Once I unwrap my scarf, they all come out and just slowly walk past me, and I’m just trying so hard to not cry, not to break down because I can’t show these people that they broke me,” Johnston said. “I felt like at that point, that’s what they wanted me to do. I came there and I had nothing to keep me there, so, I felt like at that moment, let’s break this girl, she’s too high spirit, I was too sweet. I was too respectful and I felt like their mission was to break me, and they did.”