At a Donald Trump rally on Friday in the US state of South Carolina, a Muslim woman was escorted out after the crowd turned against her.
As Trump spoke of Syrian migrants and speculated over them being part of the Islamic State, Rose Hamid, 56, a flight attendant, stood up in silent protest. The Washington Post reported, "Trump kept speaking, but soon the crowd erupted, holding up their campaign signs and chanting: "Trump! Trump! Trump!" That was the formal signal for security to remove her from the rally... ."
Hamid, wearing a hijab and a T-shirt that said "Salaam, I come in peace" also sported a yellow star, similar to those once worn by Jews during the Holocaust, with the message "Stop Islamophobia." She was accompanied by a man, Marty Rosenbluth, in her protest.
In the report above of the incident, Hamid tells CNN her motive for being at the rally. "I have this sincere belief that if people get to know each other one on one, that they'll stop being afraid of each other and will be able to get rid of all this hate in the world. So that was my goal that people see that muslims aren't that scary."
She admits that there were some good, friendly people in the crowd but as she was being escorted out she was booed, accused of having a bomb, and patronisingly told that Jesus loves her.
CNN reported that the Trump campaign staff had instructed supporters to start chanting "Trump" in case of a protest. An officer of the police department, Major Steven Thompson, reportedly said that Hamid was escorted out of the event because the campaign told him beforehand that "anybody who made any kind of disturbance" should be escorted out.
Once aware of the disturbance, Trump said, "There is hatred against us that is unbelievable. It's their hatred, it's not our hatred."
On Thursday too, a Trump rally was interrupted by several protestors, despite attempts by his staff to screen the crowd. At first referring to disruptions as being "exciting", later he reportedly suggested that security staff confiscate protesters' coats, noting that it was below freezing outside.
And then he blamed the security staff for the large number of protestors, saying "This is why we're losing control of our country. This is why. We lose control of our country 'cause everybody's afraid to do anything. They're afraid to lose their jobs."
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