Lawsuit claims North Georgia sheriff's office forced Muslim woman to remove hijab after arrest
Civil rights attorneys and the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations are suing the Bartow County Sheriff and a detention officer after they say they violated an Atlanta Muslim woman's religious and civil rights by forcing her to remove her hijab.
In the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, attorneys allege that the agency's staff ignored 21-year-old Ivana Elliott's objections and forced her to remove the religious garment before subjecting her to a strip search in front of male officers.
According to the attorneys, Elliott was arrested on the morning of April 6, 2025, during a traffic stop on Interstate 75.
When the Atlanta woman got to the Bartow County Jail, the lawsuit claims she was ordered to remove her hijab to allow her booking photograph to be taken. While Elliott did remove the outer scarf, she asked to keep her undercap on because there were male officers around. That request was reportedly denied.
"Though Plaintiff continued to object verbally, she offered no physical resistance. Multiple male officers then surrounded her," the complaint reads. "Fearing escalation and physical violence, Plaintiff removed her undercap."
The lawsuit goes on to say that the officers forced Elliott into a jail cell and "stripped her naked" to search her. They then allegedly threatened to use a Taser on her if she moved.
Elliott spent 32 hours in detention, during which her attorneys say she suffered panic attacks, physical injuries, and mental anguish. Her criminal charges remain pending, and her booking photo, where she is uncovered, remains in government databases.
CAIR-Georgia and the attorneys are asking the court to declare that the removal of Elliott's religious modesty garments violated her First Amendment rights as well as the Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act and mandate that the sheriff's office make changes to their policies regarding Muslim women and their clothing.
"We are committed to holding the Bartow County Sheriff and his staff accountable for flagrant violations of our client's religious freedoms while she was detained at the Bartow County Jail. With this lawsuit, we hope to right the injustices against our client and ensure that this never happens again," Attorney James Slater said.
When asked by CBS News Atlanta for a statement about the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the Bartow County Sheriff's Office said that they could not comment on ongoing litigation.
