An activist who was arrested for her alleged participation in an anti-Israel encampment at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) in May is now suing Knox County, Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler, as well as Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KNSO) Sergeant Jonathan Burgess.
The lawsuit filed by Layla Soliz explains that she is Muslim and wears a hijab, but after her May 2024 arrest, “Knox County Sheriff’s Office employees demanded that Mrs. Soliz remove her hijab and be photographed without it for her booking photo,” then published it online.
While the lawsuit does not state where the image was published, KCSO posts booking photos of individuals arrested by the agency within the last 24 hours to its website.
After it was posted to the KCSO website, Soliz’s lawsuit states the image was then shared online, including in third-party databases.
The lawsuit argues the KCSO mugshot amounts to “mistreatment of Mrs. Soliz,” as well as “disrespect for her religious rights,” and claims the experience left Soliz “scarred.”
Soliz and her attorneys additionally claim that KCSO requiring her to remove the hijab for the publicly released mugshot violated its policies for booking photos, which it claims allows such images to be captured only for internal use.
The lawsuit reveals Soliz is seeking at least $250,000 in damages, plus attorney fees, and for her photo to be permanently removed from the KCSO database of booking photos.
Law enforcement in other states have faced similar lawsuits, including in Texas, when three women were arrested in Dallas and required to remove their hijabs after their participation in a protest that reportedly sought to compel the Biden-Harris administration to seek a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The arrest of Soliz was linked to the anti-Israel encampment that formed in UTK on May 1, and was then allowed to exist beyond the school’s original May 11 deadline. Police dispersed the encampment on May 15, when a total of 11 were reportedly arrested, including three students at the university.
In addition to the lawsuit, at least one complaint resulted from the dispersal of the encampment, when protester Yassin Terou complained the University of Tennessee Police Department (UTPD) failed to adequately maintain the safety of those involved in the protest. That complaint forced an internal investigation.
The protesters provided a list of demands that would have required the University of Tennessee to join the controversial Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement many Israelis consider antisemitic, as well as suspend opportunities for students to study abroad in Israel.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Free Palestine Encampment” by Vanderbilt Divest Coalition.
