US woman charged with hate crime after forcibly removing Saudi student’s hijab

A 23-year-old American woman was charged with a hate crime after she forcibly pulled a hijab off of a Saudi foreign exchange student’s head in Portland, Oregon, the Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced on Friday.

The incident occurred on November 12, 2019, when the 24-year-old Saudi student, who is part of an exchange program at Portland State University, was at a train station, according to a court document.

Jasmine Renee Campbell approached the victim from behind and grabbed her hijab, before attempting to choke the Saudi student with the headscarf, the document states.

According to media reports, Campbell then completely undressed and rubbed the victim’s hijab on parts of her body.

“As a result of this incident, the victim told police that she no longer feels safe wearing a hijab in public and is relying on alternative methods to cover herself,” the court document stated.

Campbell has been charged on two accounts of second-degree bias crime, one account of attempted strangulation, one account of harassment, and one account of third-degree mischief.