An American-Muslim teen who claimed she was attacked by ‘drunk’ Donald Trump supporters in New York was arrested Wednesday after admitting she made up the story.
Yasmin Seweid, 18, had told police on December 1 that three drunk, white men shouted the president-elect’s name while attempting to remove her hijab while riding the New York City subway. In a post on her Facebook account, which has now been deleted, she claimed the men shouted, “Look, it’s a ****ing terrorist” and “Get the hell out of the country!”
She also wrote, “Trump America is real and I witnessed it first-hand last night! What a traumatising night.”
She shared details of her alleged ordeal on Facebook and won the support of other social media users.
Days after reporting the crime, Seweid went missing, sparking a missing person’s appeal and another large police effort.
According BuzzFeed News, police was unable to locate witnesses or a video of the incident and on Tuesday, Seweid admitted she made up the story “because of family problems.” As a result, police arrested her on Wednesday for reporting a false incident and obstructing government administration.
Among those to support Seweid in court on Wednesday was her older brother Abdoul who was himself arrested in 2012 for lying to police.
He claimed his friend had been ‘assaulted by three unknown males’, but was later charged among other teenagers with breaking into cars to steal their valuable contents near their home in New Hyde Park.