2 Muslim women claim discrimination after being denied entry to US vice president’s campaign event

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, US (AA) - A video released Tuesday showing two Muslim women being denied access to a campaign event for US Vice President Kamala Harris in the state of Nevada is drawing accusations of discrimination against the Biden-Harris campaign.

The exchange was recorded at a "Get The Vote Out" event in Las Vegas on Saturday where Harris was the guest speaker. The two women, both wearing hijabs, were told by event staff that they were not allowed into the venue, despite both women having invitations and wristbands necessary to gain entry.

"Why are you choosing us not to go in when we have an invite?" the first woman said to the man who was allowing guests inside.

"Right, you specifically singled us out," said the second woman, as the man said nothing and continued to let other people pass through the line.

The women accused the man of discriminating against them because they were wearing hijabs and the first woman took over the conversation.

"Is that against Democrats' whole campaign?" she asked. "That's very Islamophobic. That's very racist."

To which the man only replied, "I'm sorry," evoking the woman to speak her mind even further.

"They're disinviting us because we have hijabs on our heads... this is disgusting," she said. "Obviously we're the only hijabi women, that's kind of clear. They're disinviting us because we have scarfs on our heads...that's disgusting... when we have an invitation just like everyone else. What is the problem?"

"I feel really targeted right now and that's disgusting," she continued. "We didn't do anything wrong. We literally have an invite, we have a wristband...we showed our ID."

The pro-Palestinian community voiced their outrage at the situation, posting the video exchange on X.

"Both of these Muslim constituents had RSVPd for the event, were given wristbands upon checking in and were standing in line when the Harris campaign officials denied them entry," said Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation in a post.

There has been an uptick in protests against President Joe Biden's foreign policy when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that began Oct. 7 after a Hamas attack on Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people.

Several of Biden's events have been disrupted by protestors who have shouted comments like "Genocide Joe" at the president.

For that reason, the Biden administration has hired Doug Landry, a veteran logistical planner for several presidential campaigns, according to NBC News. Landry is now trying to establish a balance on the campaign trail to allow critics of Biden's policies to freely express their opinions while not overwhelming the events or blocking supporters from attending.

Officials told NBC that volunteers at events are being trained to keep an eye out for potential protesters, though they are not able to stop them from attending.

However, the two Muslim women in Nevada were prohibited from attending the event, apparently because of their ethnic appearance, which is drawing ire from the pro-Palestinian community.

"As you can clearly see in the video, these women were 'disinvited' while others were being let in who were in line behind them. When pressed about why they were not allowed in, the Harris officials could not give a legitimate reason," said Nevadans for Palestinian Liberation.

The Biden-Harris team has not yet addressed this recent event, but campaign officials are preparing for more situations like this leading up to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago which will be held in August.

"We are closely coordinating with law enforcement overseeing security, including planning for expression of First Amendment rights, and we look forward to hosting what we are confident will be a safe and successful convention," a spokesperson for the Democratic National Convention said in a statement.