Moorhead Police: Charges Possible in Hijab Harassment Case, Family Speaks Out

Officers say Fardoso Mohamed was shopping in the Moorhead Hornbacher's with her 1-year-old son on Monday when an older man asked Mohamed to take off her hijab

MOORHEAD, Minn. — After a Moorhead woman was harassed for wearing her hijab, officers say charges against the suspect “are” possible, contrary to other media reports.

They are still trying to figure out exactly who the suspect is.

Officers say Fardoso Mohamed was shopping in the Moorhead Hornbacher’s with her 1-year-old son on Monday when an older man asked Mohamed to take off her hijab.

After ignoring him at first, they say the man began shouting at her.

A bystander got this video of Mohamed and other witnesses telling a Moorhead officer what happened.

Since then, the story exploded on social media.

CAIR-MN, a Minneapolis Muslim rights activist group, urged Moorhead police to reconsider pressing charges.

But Lt. Tory Jacobson says they haven’t yet reached the point where they can even consider pressing charges.

Hamida Dakane, a family member of Fardoso, says she took this video to inspire others to speak up when things like this happen.

“When somebody says that to me, they go, ‘Oh, does that happen? Really? Does that happen in our community’?” said Hamida Dakane, who is a family member of Mohamed’s. “The whole idea of putting this out is to show people that this often does happen, only that it’s not reported.”

Moorhead Police Lt. Tory Jacobson says multiple media outlets falsely claimed that police decided not to press charges.

He say the case remains “open,” and officers are still working on getting all the info.

The Clay County Attorney’s Office will decide if any charges will be made once they find out who the suspect is.