Muslim woman from Grand Rapids to sue after being forced to remove hijab for mugshot

The Grand Rapids woman was released without being charged

May 30, 2023 at 1:36 pm

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File photo of a woman wearing a hijab.

A Muslim rights group plans to sue the Kent County Sheriff’s Office for forcing a Black Muslim woman to remove her hijab for a booking photo following her arrest.

The photo was later posted on the sheriff’s publicly accessible website.

In a notice of claim filed Tuesday, the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) alleges the sheriff’s office violated the religious rights of Jannah Hague, a 21-year-old from Grand Rapids.

Notices of claim are required before people can sue government entities.

Hague was arrested on April 8 following an alleged domestic altercation at her home.

At the Kent County jail, deputies forcibly removed Hague’s hijab, despite her pleading with them to allow her to keep her head covered as part of her religious beliefs, according to the complaint. She was forced to stand in front of a male officer for the photo, which was later uploaded to the office’s website.

CAIR-MI says the office violated its own policy regarding religious head-coverings.

A hijab is a traditional Muslim headscarf that is worn by women in the presence of men who are not a member of their family.

Hague was later released without being charged, according to the complaint.

“Muslim women have the right to their sincerely-held religious expression even when encountering law enforcement,” CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid said in a written statement. “The Law enforcement officials involved in Ms. Hague’s detention need better training in religious competency and religious rights to ensure that no Muslim woman is ever again striped of her hijab in public.”

The notice of intent is just the latest legal action taken against a law enforcement agency in Michigan. In November 2021, a Muslim woman sued the Ferndale Police Department for forcing her to remove her hijab.

Muslim woman forced to remove hijab by police files lawsuit against Ferndale

In October 2020, a Muslim woman filed a lawsuit after she was ordered to remove her hijab for a booking photo at the Detroit Detention Center.

In December 2020, CAIR-MI filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections for forcing more than 15 women to remove their hijab for mugshots.

“When a Muslim woman is stripped of her hijab for a photograph and that photograph is placed on the internet for all to view, it is akin to publishing an intimate and private photograph of any woman and leaves the Muslim woman ashamed and embarrassed,” CAIR-MI staff attorney Amy V. Doukoure said. “It should never have happened to Ms. Hague, especially in light of the previous litigation in the state of Michigan involving several other law enforcement agencies engaging in the same illegal conduct. Kent County Sheriff’s office knew better and should have done better by Ms. Hague.”

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About The Author

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling is an award-winning investigative journalist who operated Motor City Muckraker, an online news site devoted to exposing abuses of power and holding public officials accountable. Neavling also hosted Muckraker Report on 910AM from September 2017 to July 2018. Before launching Motor City Muckraker,...