Rep. Rashid on White Supremacist Attack at Palestine Fest

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, issued the following statement regarding the attack on attendees of AMP Chicago’s 4th Annual Palestine Fest:

“Yesterday, thousands of Palestinian families and neighbors from across Chicagoland gathered in Bridgeview for the 4th annual Palestine Fest, a day of music, food, poetry, and the kind of community joy Bridgeview is known for. By every measure, it was a beautiful day.

“It was a beautiful day despite the best efforts of a group of self-styled ‘crusaders’. Led by convicted January 6th insurrectionist Jake Lang, a man found guilty of violently assaulting Capitol Police officers, they came to our town for the explicit purpose of intimidating Muslim and Palestinian families on a day they had set aside to celebrate their history and culture. They came carrying symbols of war and openly calling for our erasure.

“The rally may have been protected speech, but it was no protest.

“It is absurd to think that white supremacists from out of town could walk into our community and claim to be ‘protesting’ our presence in our own homes. This was an act of intimidation, a deliberate attempt to instill fear and hate on a day of celebration and commemoration. Lang and his gang did not leave without doing harm. A local teenager was sent to the hospital after being assaulted. That is a serious offense that must be investigated as the hate crime that it is, and those responsible must be held accountable.

“This is the same tactic this group has used in Dearborn and Minneapolis: show up at a community gathering, provoke a reaction, and film it to flip the narrative.

“I thank the organizers, volunteers, and community members whose cool heads and coordination with local authorities that kept yesterday from playing into their hands and instead kept it a day of community, not a day of fear. We are resilient and, in the face of white supremacist violence, our strength will not waiver.”