Boss told cops to ‘keep an eye on' Muslim worker during prayer, MN suit says
A former employee of a Minnesota transportation agency said religious discrimination and retaliation forced him to leave his job, according to a lawsuit.
The complaint — filed June 3 on behalf of Jihad Hamoud, a practicing Muslim — accuses regional planning agency Met Council of disciplining and humiliating him. It says that came after he reported faith-based discrimination, including one occasion where a supervisor directed police to 'keep an eye on' him while he prayed.
A spokesperson for Met Council in Saint Paul told McClatchy News in a June 6 email they do not comment on ongoing litigation.
'With its power and resources, Met Council should be setting the standard for what an inclusive and respectful workplace looks like,' Naomi Martin, Hamoud's attorney, said in a June 5 news release. 'That starts with ensuring discrimination and retaliation have no place in its operations — especially by those in supervisory roles.'
The lawsuit comes as the state of Minnesota continues to see increases in instances of anti-Muslim hate, attorneys said.
Religious discrimination experiences
According to the complaint, Hamoud was hired as a bus operator at the agency in 2010 and then transferred to facilities maintenance in 2019.
He began recording his experiences after attorneys said he watched a Muslim co-worker experience retaliation by his supervisor.
A supervisor made a negative comment directed at Muslim workers, blaming them for making a bathroom dirty during their prayer time, according to the complaint.
When Hamoud told his supervisor Muslims are not allowed to pray in restrooms, he didn't apologize or correct his assumption, the complaint said.
Hamoud also recorded multiple instances of discrimination with one janitor, according to the complaint.
After reporting his experiences, Hamoud was placed on administrative leave, but the janitor continued working, attorneys said.
Then, his managers told him to avoid the janitor when he got back to work, according to the complaint.
But when Hamoud passed the janitor in a vehicle driven by another worker, his managers accused him of trying to intimidate the janitor, the complaint said.
He was then told in a meeting with managers he would be placed on unpaid leave for five days, attorneys said. When he asked why he was being placed on leave, the managers did not say, according to the complaint.
Hamoud was then escorted out of the office building by police, according to the complaint.
'This caused Hamoud great emotional distress, including feeling fearful, embarrassed, degraded, humiliated, disrespected, vilified, and discriminated against,' attorneys said.
Despite ongoing emails to Met Council leadership after returning to work and continuing to experience religious discrimination, the agency didn't do anything to address it, according to the complaint.
Hamoud resigned in May 2022 and filed a discrimination charge against the agency with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, according to the complaint.
The commissioner concluded there was probable cause of retaliation and discrimination against Hamoud twice, in November and January, attorneys said.
The complaint asks for monetary compensation for 'lost earnings and benefits, emotional distress, embarrassment, humiliation, and other compensatory damages.'
Anti-Muslim discrimination in Minnesota
For the past three years, Minnesota has led the country in reported attacks against mosques, according to a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
There were 15 recorded incidents targeting mosques in the state in 2024, three times higher than the next highest state for reported attacks, according to the report.
Several acts of vandalism, intimidation and discrimination were also reported in the state, the report said.
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San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Israel backs an anti-Hamas armed group known for looting aid in Gaza. Here's what we know
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is supporting armed groups of Palestinians in Gaza in what it says is a move to counter Hamas. But officials from the U.N. and aid organizations say the military is allowing them to loot food and other supplies from their trucks. One self-styled militia, which calls itself the Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, says it is guarding newly created, Israeli-backed food distribution centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. trucks. Gaza's armed groups have ties to powerful clans or extended families and often operate as criminal gangs. Aid workers allege Israel's backing of the groups is part of a wider effort to control all aid operations in the strip. Israel denies allowing looters to operate in areas it controls. Here's what we know about anti-Hamas armed groups in Gaza: Who are these groups? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a social media video Thursday that Israel had 'activated' clans in Gaza to oppose Hamas. He didn't elaborate how Israel is supporting them or what role Israel wants them to play. Netanyahu's comments were in response to a political opponent accusing him of arming 'crime families' in Gaza. Clans, tribes and extended families have strong influence in Gaza, where their leaders often help mediate disputes. Some have long been armed to protect their group's interests, and some have morphed into gangs involved in smuggling drugs or running protection rackets. After seizing power in 2007, Hamas clamped down on Gaza's gangs -- sometimes with brute force and sometimes by steering perks their way. But with Hamas' weakening power after 20 months of war with Israel, gangs have regained freedom to act. The leadership of a number of clans — including the clan from which the Abu Shabab group's members hail — have issued statements denouncing looting and cooperation with Israel. A self-proclaimed 'nationalist force' The Abu Shabab group went public in early May, declaring itself a 'nationalist force.' It said it was protecting aid, including around the food distribution hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a mainly American private contractor that Israel intends to replace the U.N.-led aid network. Aid workers and Palestinians who know the group estimate it has several hundred fighters. The Abu Shabab group's media office told The Associated Press it was collaborating with GHF 'to ensure that the food and medicine reaches its beneficiaries.' It said it was not involved in distribution, but that its fighters secured the surroundings of distribution centers run by GHF inside military-controlled zones in the Rafah area. A spokesperson with GHF said it had 'no collaboration' with Abu Shabab. 'We do have local Palestinian workers we are very proud of, but none is armed, and they do not belong to Abu Shabab's organization,' the spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group's rules. Before the war, Yasser Abu Shabab was involved in smuggling cigarettes and drugs from Egypt and Israel into Gaza through crossings and tunnels, according to two members of his extended family, one of whom was once part of his group. Hamas arrested Abu Shabab but freed him from prison along with most other inmates when the war began in October 2023, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Abu Shabab's media office said he was summoned by police before the war but wasn't officially accused or tried. It also said claims the group was involved in attacking aid trucks were 'exaggerated,' saying its fighters 'took the minimum amount of food and water necessary.' The head of the association in Gaza that provides trucks and drivers for aid groups said their members' vehicles have been attacked many times by Abu Shabab's fighters. Nahed Sheheiber said the group has been active in Israeli-controlled eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, targeting trucks as they enter Gaza from the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel. Troops nearby 'did nothing' to stop attacks, he said. Sheheiber said that when Hamas policemen have tried to confront gangs or guard truck convoys, they were attacked by Israeli troops. One driver, Issam Abu Awda, told the AP he was attacked by Abu Shabab fighters last July. The fighters stopped his truck, blindfolded and handcuffed him and his assistant, then loaded the supplies off the vehicle, he said. Abu Awda said nearby Israeli troops didn't intervene. These kinds of attacks are still happening and highlight 'a disturbing pattern,' according to Jonathan Whittall, from the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, OCHA. 'Those who have blocked and violently ransacked aid trucks seem to have been protected' by Israeli forces, said Whittall, head of OCHA's office for the occupied Palestinian territories. And, he added, they have now become the 'protectors of the goods being distributed through Israel's new militarized hubs,' referring to the GHF-run sites. The Israeli military did not reply when asked for comment on allegations it has allowed armed groups to loot trucks. But the Israeli prime minister's office called the accusations 'fake news,' saying, 'Israel didn't allow looters to operate in Israeli controlled areas.' Israel often accuses Hamas of stealing from trucks. What does all this have to do with aid? Muhammad Shehada, a political analyst from Gaza who is a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said he doesn't believe Israel's support for armed groups is aimed at directly fighting Hamas. So far there has been no attempt to deploy the groups against the militants. Instead, he said, Israel is using the gangs and the looting to present GHF 'as the only alternative to provide food to Palestinians,' since its supplies get in while the U.N.'s don't. Israel wants the GHF to replace the U.N.-led aid system because it claims Hamas has been siphoning off large amounts of supplies. The U.N. denies that significant amounts have been taken by Hamas. Israel has also said it aims to move all Palestinians in Gaza to a 'sterile zone' in the south, around the food hubs, while it fights Hamas elsewhere. The U.N. and aid groups have rejected that as using food as a tool for forced displacement. The Abu Shabab group has issued videos online urging Palestinians to move to tent camps in Rafah. Israel barred all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for 2 ½ months , pending the start of GHF – a blockade that has brought the population to the brink of famine. GHF started distributing food boxes on May 26 at three hubs guarded by private contractors inside Israeli military zones. Israel has let in some trucks of aid for the U.N. to distribute. But the U.N. says it has been able to get little of it into the hands of Palestinians because of Israeli military restrictions, including requiring its trucks to use roads where looters are known to operate. 'It's Israel's way of telling the U.N., if you want to try to bring aid into Gaza, good luck with this," said Shehada. "We will force you to go through a road where everything you brought will be looted.' Magdy and Keath reported from Cairo
Hamilton Spectator
24 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Israel backs an anti-Hamas armed group known for looting aid in Gaza. Here's what we know
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is supporting armed groups of Palestinians in Gaza in what it says is a move to counter Hamas. But officials from the U.N. and aid organizations say the military is allowing them to loot food and other supplies from their trucks. One self-styled militia, which calls itself the Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, says it is guarding newly created, Israeli-backed food distribution centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. trucks. Gaza's armed groups have ties to powerful clans or extended families and often operate as criminal gangs. Aid workers allege Israel's backing of the groups is part of a wider effort to control all aid operations in the strip. Israel denies allowing looters to operate in areas it controls. Here's what we know about anti-Hamas armed groups in Gaza: Who are these groups? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a social media video Thursday that Israel had 'activated' clans in Gaza to oppose Hamas. He didn't elaborate how Israel is supporting them or what role Israel wants them to play. Netanyahu's comments were in response to a political opponent accusing him of arming 'crime families' in Gaza. Clans, tribes and extended families have strong influence in Gaza, where their leaders often help mediate disputes. Some have long been armed to protect their group's interests, and some have morphed into gangs involved in smuggling drugs or running protection rackets. After seizing power in 2007, Hamas clamped down on Gaza's gangs — sometimes with brute force and sometimes by steering perks their way. But with Hamas' weakening power after 20 months of war with Israel, gangs have regained freedom to act. The leadership of a number of clans — including the clan from which the Abu Shabab group's members hail — have issued statements denouncing looting and cooperation with Israel. A self-proclaimed 'nationalist force' Besides the Abu Shabab group, it is not known how many armed groups Israel is supporting. The Abu Shabab group went public in early May, declaring itself a 'nationalist force.' It said it was protecting aid, including around the food distribution hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation , a mainly American private contractor that Israel intends to replace the U.N.-led aid network. Aid workers and Palestinians who know the group estimate it has several hundred fighters. The Abu Shabab group's media office told The Associated Press it was collaborating with GHF 'to ensure that the food and medicine reaches its beneficiaries.' It said it was not involved in distribution, but that its fighters secured the surroundings of distribution centers run by GHF inside military-controlled zones in the Rafah area. A spokesperson with GHF said it had 'no collaboration' with Abu Shabab. 'We do have local Palestinian workers we are very proud of, but none is armed, and they do not belong to Abu Shabab's organization,' the spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group's rules. Before the war, Yasser Abu Shabab was involved in smuggling cigarettes and drugs from Egypt and Israel into Gaza through crossings and tunnels, according to two members of his extended family, one of whom was once part of his group. Hamas arrested Abu Shabab but freed him from prison along with most other inmates when the war began in October 2023, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Abu Shabab's media office said he was summoned by police before the war but wasn't officially accused or tried. It also said claims the group was involved in attacking aid trucks were 'exaggerated,' saying its fighters 'took the minimum amount of food and water necessary.' Aid workers say it is notorious for looting The head of the association in Gaza that provides trucks and drivers for aid groups said their members' vehicles have been attacked many times by Abu Shabab's fighters. Nahed Sheheiber said the group has been active in Israeli-controlled eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, targeting trucks as they enter Gaza from the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel. Troops nearby 'did nothing' to stop attacks, he said. Sheheiber said that when Hamas policemen have tried to confront gangs or guard truck convoys, they were attacked by Israeli troops. One driver, Issam Abu Awda, told the AP he was attacked by Abu Shabab fighters last July. The fighters stopped his truck, blindfolded and handcuffed him and his assistant, then loaded the supplies off the vehicle, he said. Abu Awda said nearby Israeli troops didn't intervene. These kinds of attacks are still happening and highlight 'a disturbing pattern,' according to Jonathan Whittall, from the U.N. humanitarian coordinator, OCHA. 'Those who have blocked and violently ransacked aid trucks seem to have been protected' by Israeli forces, said Whittall, head of OCHA's office for the occupied Palestinian territories. And, he added, they have now become the 'protectors of the goods being distributed through Israel's new militarized hubs,' referring to the GHF-run sites. The Israeli military did not reply when asked for comment on allegations it has allowed armed groups to loot trucks. But the Israeli prime minister's office called the accusations 'fake news,' saying, 'Israel didn't allow looters to operate in Israeli controlled areas.' Israel often accuses Hamas of stealing from trucks. What does all this have to do with aid? Muhammad Shehada, a political analyst from Gaza who is a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said he doesn't believe Israel's support for armed groups is aimed at directly fighting Hamas. So far there has been no attempt to deploy the groups against the militants. Instead, he said, Israel is using the gangs and the looting to present GHF 'as the only alternative to provide food to Palestinians,' since its supplies get in while the U.N.'s don't. Israel wants the GHF to replace the U.N.-led aid system because it claims Hamas has been siphoning off large amounts of supplies. The U.N. denies that significant amounts have been taken by Hamas. Israel has also said it aims to move all Palestinians in Gaza to a 'sterile zone' in the south, around the food hubs, while it fights Hamas elsewhere. The U.N. and aid groups have rejected that as using food as a tool for forced displacement. The Abu Shabab group has issued videos online urging Palestinians to move to tent camps in Rafah. Israel barred all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for 2 1/2 months , pending the start of GHF – a blockade that has brought the population to the brink of famine. GHF started distributing food boxes on May 26 at three hubs guarded by private contractors inside Israeli military zones. Israel has let in some trucks of aid for the U.N. to distribute. But the U.N. says it has been able to get little of it into the hands of Palestinians because of Israeli military restrictions, including requiring its trucks to use roads where looters are known to operate. 'It's Israel's way of telling the U.N., if you want to try to bring aid into Gaza, good luck with this,' said Shehada. 'We will force you to go through a road where everything you brought will be looted.' ___ Magdy and Keath reported from Cairo Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Biden Weaponized Law Enforcement Against Catholics
Even the initial story about the FBI targeting Catholics for suspicion and surveillance was bad enough. In December 2023, the House Judiciary Committee published a detailed report about how the FBI specifically identified traditional Catholics as potential domestic terror threats. The House report revealed the shocking finding that the Richmond, Virginia, office of the FBI suspected traditional Catholics "as violent extremists and proposed opportunities for the FBI to infiltrate Catholic churches as a form of 'threat mitigation." In sworn testimony before the U.S. Senate, former FBI Director Christopher Wray was challenged by Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri: "Now we know that, in fact, FBI agents did approach a priest and a choir director to ask them to inform on parishioners." Despite this serious allegation, Wray denied a wider FBI initiative and blamed a localized mistake in Richmond. Well … new information reveals that, at best, FBI Director Wray was playing fast and loose with the truth. At worst, the then-sitting chief law enforcement investigator of America committed perjury when he dishonestly stated that the memo was "a single product by a single field office." Oh, all while completely maligning the largest denomination of Christian believers in the United States. But, alas, the sad story of the FBI targeting Catholics does not end in 2023. New information uncovered by Sen. Charles Grassleys committee reveals that the so-called "Richmond memo" was more like a nationwide all-points-bulletin from FBI brass, informing legions of agents to suspect and investigate faithful parishioners across the land. As CatholicVote describes, "the FBIs anti-Catholic Richmond memo was distributed to more than 1,000 employees in FBI field offices across the country." Sen. Grassleys press release states that a whistleblower "produced at least 13 additional documents and five attachments that used anti-Catholic terminology and relied on information from the radical far-left Southern Poverty Law Center" to target Catholics. Amazingly, such harsh anti-Catholic actions formed a key policy agenda for Joe Biden, a politician who constantly trumpeted his Catholic bona fides and bragged about the rosary he carries in his pocket. Of course, those pronouncements did not stop him from targeting the Little Sisters of the Poor for brutal Department of Justice intimidation when he was vice president. Nor did Joes faith restrain him as president, when he awarded Americas highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to the late Cecile Richardson, one of the most prolific abortion providers in U.S. history. Unfortunately, Bidens anti-Catholic actions follow a tragic trend of recent decades for Democrats, once the proud home to generations of Catholic voters across America. In fact, Bidens eventual vice president, Kamala Harris, engaged in brazen anti-Catholic bigotry as a U.S. senator in 2018. Harris tried to derail the judicial nomination of Brian Buescher simply because the district court nominee dared to belong to the Catholic fraternal charity organization, the Knights of Columbus. I wrote about that prejudice - an unconstitutional religious litmus test - in a December 26, 2018, opinion piece for RealClearPolitics. No wonder that during the 2024 presidential race, then-Sen. JD Vance called the Biden-Harris White House "the most anti-Catholic administration in living memory." Which brings us back to the present day and these newfound facts about the breadth and scope of the anti-Catholicism of Bidens FBI. This targeting fits within a larger context of the completely unacceptable politicized weaponization of federal law enforcement by people like Biden, Harris, Wray, and former Attorney General Merrick Garland. Sen. Grassley makes it clear that he believes Wray lied under oath. If that allegation is correct, then the Trump-Vance DOJ must charge Wray. In addition, this issue carries great political peril for Democrats and big continued rewards for Republicans. Historically, Catholics decide national elections. For over half a century, the Catholic vote has determined the winner in every election but one (choosing Al Gore over George W. Bush in 2000). In 2024 Trump rolled up an incredible +11% margin among Catholics nationwide, a giant improvement over his tie among Catholics in 2020. In fact, Trump would not have won the popular vote - surprising every "expert" - without his dominant performance among Catholics. So, lets get to the truth, punish the evildoers, and reap the political spoils as well. Steve Cortes is president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group, and senior political advisor to Catholic Vote. He is a former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance, and a former commentator for Fox News and CNN.
