The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate an allegedly bias-motivated spitting attack on a Muslim woman in Kentucky as a hate crime.
The alleged victim, a worker at Golisano Children’s at UK hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, who wears an Islamic head scarf (hijab), reported that she was walking back to her car yesterday after work at the hospital when she felt spit splatter felt spit splattered across my face, followed by the words, “That’s how I feel about people like you.” The alleged attacker then reportedly shouted that he would kill her.
The victim recorded a post-attack video of the alleged assailant. A police report has been filed.
In a statement, CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor said:
“No one should be subjected to an alleged hateful attack because of their faith or religious attire. We urge local, state, and federal law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident, determine whether bias motivated the alleged attack, and hold the perpetrator accountable under applicable hate-crime laws.”
“These disturbing incidents, which we believe are the result of growing anti-Muslim bigotry nationwide, underscore the need for law enforcement authorities to take anti-Muslim bias seriously and to investigate allegations of hate-motivated violence promptly and thoroughly.”
Saylor noted that yesterday, CAIR’s Florida chapter welcomed charges for an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a mosque.
He added that CAIR’s latest civil rights report – which he authored – documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025 – the highest number ever recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996.
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CONTACT: CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor, 202-384-8857; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]