Laila was arrested for protesting in Charlotte against Israel invading Gaza in a months long war, jail guards took off her Muslim hijab
In September 2025 Laila El Ali, 26, settled a lawsuit against the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office in Charlotte, NC for making her take off her hair hijab during her arrest in February 2024. Laila was in the Charlotte City council chambers in uptown Charlotte protesting against Israel invading Gaza.

Laila is Muslim, and it is customary for female Muslims to wear a hair covering hijab. In Saudi Arabia, women must cover their entire faces. Most Saudi Arabian women are very sexy, but it is not known or shown to the world due to all the body and face coverings.
Cops say Laila was impeding traffic and loud. Laila criticizes the U.S. government’s support of Israel during the Gaza war.
Laila and a group of people walked into a Charlotte City Council gathering and began protesting, demanding that a cease fire occur in the Israel Gaza war and that the Charlotte City Council adopt a cease fire policy for Gaza. Even though the city council in Charlotte has no control over a cease fire in foreign countries.
Laila was arrested charged with impeding traffic and a noise violation. When Laila got to the jail, a guard took off her hijab while Laila was in handcuffs. Laila says she told the guard not to take off her hijab, but the guard did it anyway in front of men and lifted up her shirt for a search.
Laila later sued the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office because they operate the jail. Some view the forced wearing of the hijab as a way to suppress and oppress women.
As part of the settlement the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office updated their jail head covering policy,
“Inmates are permitted to wear religious head coverings when entering into jail, unless temporary removal is required for safety and security.”
Gaza started this whole ordeal in the first place when they attacked Israel in October 2023, killing Israelis during a concert in the desert. Hamas militants from Gaza used aerial hang gliders to cross into Israel airspace and land on concert goers, shooting them with machine guns and kidnapping women. Some women were taken back to Gaza and sexually assaulted.
1,200 Israelis were killed and in retaliation 65,400 Palestinians and people in Gaza were killed by the Israel military.