By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
Late Monday, the Independent learned that a 22-year-old Democratic candidate for the DuPage County Board in District 4 would be withdrawing from the race due to a video that went viral and drew national attention.
Hadiya Afzal was witnessed on Twitter laughing at a video that shows a law enforcement official, apparently at a protest rally, getting hit in the face with some kind of projectile. In her tweet, she wrote: I’ve been watching this on repeat for 15 minutes and laughing every single time.”
Her tweet garnered national attention when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz put his own message on Twitter, calling her behavior “hateful and sick.” Afzal issued another statement via Twitter on Sunday night, admitting the post was in poor taste and “doesn’t reflect the values I was raised with and hold dear.”
Afzal went on to claim she did not condone violence and had been “calling for policy changes to our policing problems today.” She said she is Muslim and wears a hijab and that she had been the target of numerous threats herself to the point she was often concerned with her own safety and that of her family.
In Oak Park: Two still at large after robbing driver at gunpoint
As of Sunday, Oak Park police were still searching for two suspects who reportedly held a driver at gunpoint and made off with $2100 in goods. The men were both wearing face masks as they demanded the driver’s phone and cash. The two subjects took several Amazon packages from the victim’s trunk and stole them as well. Anyone with information is asked to call the Oak Park police at 708-386-3800. Tips can also be provided anonymously at 708-434-1636 or online at oak-park.us/crimetip.
