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Video: Spray-Painting Protester Arrested In Bizarre Altercation Over Anti-Muslim Ad
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 26, 2012
Modified Sep 26, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 26, 2012
Modified Sep 26, 2012
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[UPDATE: Second, funnier video added below] Egyptian-American activist and freelance journalist Mona Eltahawy entered the Times Square subway station last night intending to spray paint over some of the controversial advertisements condemning Muslims as "savages." But she ran into some stubborn resistance from a woman named Pamela Hall, who used herself as a human shield to defend the ads. The lengthy, awkward altercation between the two women—which culminated in Eltahawy's arrest—was caught on camera by the NY Post:
“Mona, do you think you have the right to do this?” Hall asked her as she repeatedly tried to block the barrage of spray paint. "I do actually,” Eltahawy replied. "I think this is freedom of expression, just as this is freedom of expression." For several minutes, the two women argued and tangled in an awkward counterprotest pas de deux, until the police came and slapped the cuffs on Eltahawy. And here's video from the human shield's perspective:
"This is what happens to non-violent protest in America in 2012!" Eltahawy shouted as she was arrested. She was held in jail overnight on a charge of criminal mischief and is expected to be released after going before a judge this morning. Eltahawy, you may recall, was in the news last year after she was assaulted by paramilitary riot police while covering demonstrations near Tahrir Square in Cairo.
Hall, for her part, maintains the blog Vigilant Squirrel Brigade, where she's been thoroughly documenting the debut of the advertisements, which are paid for by virulent Islamaphobe Pamela Geller. (Geller dismisses Eltahawy as an "Islamic supremacist.") Hall also blogged about the Muslim Day Parade this month, sneering at the parade's theme of peace by writing, "If you buy that, then I've got some swamp land for sale....."
Tagged
anti muslim
Islamaphobia
mona eltahawy
Pamela Geller
pamela hall
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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