Bigoted Protestor Strikes Ali Campaign HQ

Friends and Supporters,

I am writing to tell you about a disturbing event that occurred at the campaign's Gaithersburg headquarters yesterday. As usual, the office was buzzing with activity; volunteers were working away, distributing literature, assembling mailings, making phone calls, etc. I stepped out briefly to retrieve something from my car. What I saw shocked and horrified me. I was faced with a protester seated on a lawn chair. He displayed a sign reading "Islam Sucks" and he was wearing an equally offensive t-shirt. The protester repeatedly made anti-Muslim slurs and an obscene gesture.

The protestor identified himself as Tim Truett. Our further investigation revealed that Mr. Truett is a neighbor of mine in Montgomery Village. I notified the Montgomery County Police Department. A police officer arrived on the scene after Mr. Truett's hasty departure. The police officer took a police report (#R06-044772) and served Mr. Truett with a trespass notification.

While I fully support Mr. Truett's right to voice his opinions, I was baffled, perplexed and scared that in this day and age anyone could still hate anyone else on such a base level simply for their faith.

My grandparents came to this country to escape religious persecution. As Jews leaving Tsarist Russia, they believed that everyone should be judged on their merits. They instilled this belief in my parents and in turn my parents taught me and my siblings to look at each individual, not to judge anyone by the color of their skin or the religion they practice. Saqib's campaign stands for civil rights for all. I believe that Mr. Truett, and persons like him, want to limit all of our civil rights; That is what we are up against in this campaign and that is why I am asking for your help in Saqib's campaign for Delegate.

This incident is especially troubling since Saqib has worked tirelessly to bring people from different faith communities together. In particular, he co-organized the Muslim-Jewish Day of Friendship. You can read an article about that effort by clicking here.

Here is how you can support the campaign and send a message to Mr. Truett that his bigotry is totally unnacceptable:

• Volunteer your time with the campaign; Come to our office in Gaithersburg and make phone calls, put a bumper sticker on your car, distribute fliers or work the polls on September 12^th. You can sign up to volunteer by clicking here.

• If you cannot do any of the above, then please make a financial contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more so that we can hire someone in your place. Instructions for contributing can be found by clicking here.

Thank you -

Sally Hand

Volunteer Coordinator
Ali For Delegate

PS

Major news organizations are now covering this story:

• You can watch the WUSA Channel 9 interview Saqib gave here.
  
• You can the Washington Post article by clicking here.