Westchester County prosecutors have agreed to drop charges against 15 Muslims who were arrested at Rye Playland last summer after women visiting the park were told they could not go on certain ride while wearing their hijabs. The chaotic melee started after some Muslim women demanded a refund, and text messages were sent amongst some of the 3,000 Muslims visiting the amusement park with the Muslim American Society of New York. As growing numbers gathered near the park police station, local police rushed to the scene, and the situation quickly escalated, with a park ranger allegedly yelling, "I don't give a f*ck about your culture."
15 people, all Muslims, were arrested. Most were charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of governmental administration, but a handful were charged with second-degree assault. Yesterday, they accepted an offer to have the charges dismissed provided they aren't arrested in the coming months. An attorney representing the group, Lamis Deek, says her clients would have won had the case gone to trial, but most of them live in NYC, and she tells the Associated Press, "It’s unfortunately more convenient to accept this offer, not have to enter a plea of guilty, move on with their lives and pursue this matter in a civil courtroom."
Deek tells LoHud.com her clients plan to file federal civil rights lawsuits against Westchester County, claiming that the arrests were "abusive" and that the headgear ban violates the civil rights of the Muslim patrons. Rye Playland is located in a public park operated by the county, at a loss of $5 million a year. Rye Playand's rules are stricter than other amusement parks'. Six Flags in New Jersey, for instance, permits hijabs on rides as long as they are securely wrapped around the head. On the other hand, Six Flags hasn't had a fatal accident since the '80s, and it may be that Rye Playland has tighter safety regulations because of a 2005 incident in which a 7-year-old boy who was killed on a boat ride at the park.
Here's video of the chaotic scene last summer; it shows police pushing at least one Muslim woman to the ground, and over 100 officers responded to the melee, which was sparked by one 17-year-old girl from Brooklyn who refused to comply with the head scarf ban.
