Thread by @QasimRashid

3 years ago an extremist threatened to murder me for my faith as a Muslim. The FBI subpoenaed me to testify against him in Federal Court & the jury convicted him

But now—he’s appealing. So I've lawyered up w/ @MuslimAdvocates to sue him.

A thread story of hope over hate.

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Let me back up. My family faces immense persecution in Pakistan b/c of our faith as Ahmadi Muslims.

In 1997 police nearly tortured one of my cousins to death for his faith. In 1995 another cousin was lynched, murdered w/a noose around his neck & dragged through the streets.

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So, a death threat from an extremist to literally lynch me for my faith as a Muslim was horrifying deja vu

I reported the threat to Twitter who agreed it violated their TOS. They suspended him. Then a day later his account was unsuspended—after which he sent me MORE threats

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This extremist also threatened to blow up a synagogue. Antisemitism & anti-Muslim hate are two sides of the same coin.

The FBI tried to get the threatening tweets from Twitter—but shockingly Twitter claimed they couldn’t find them. So I get a phone call & a knock on my door.

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It’s the FBI, serving me a subpoena to testify in federal court.

It was beyond nerve wracking but I testified & was grateful for the opportunity for justice. A jury of my fellow Americans convicted the extremist of threatening to murder me for my faith

I was grateful but...

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I'd made up my mind to ask the judge to go lenient on him & spare him prison time. I hoped that compassion might help him reform his ways. I soon learned my hope was misplaced

The extremist was wholly unrepentant of his crime & appealed his conviction

I came to realize...

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...this wasn’t about only me. Since March 2020 Asian Americans have suffered 6600+ attacks. Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and racist attacks are at record highs. Per DOJ & FBI, white supremacy terror is America's greatest terror threat

We must demand justice & accountability

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Know what happened to the extremists who lynched & tortured my cousins in Pakistan? NOTHING. They were let go w/o even a wrist slap. Violent persecution of my fellow Ahmadi Muslims has exponentially spiked

We must send a message that such hate cannot be tolerated in America

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Truth is—I'm fortunate. To have a law degree. To live in the US. To be able to seek justice. I'm suing this extremist to send a message to him & every extremist that we will not tolerate such hateful violence against people b/c of their faith/color/creed or any protected class
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I have an incredible team of lawyers @MuslimAdvocates & Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP rep'ing me pro bono. They’ve put in the hours & been champions for justice. I’m blessed. If you can throw a few bucks to support MA—please do. muslimadvocates.org/donate/

I’ll close with this...

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My family left Pakistan bc extremists superseded the Constitutional promise of equal justice. Im now a human rights lawyer fighting for equal justice for my family, my ancestors,& every person in the US & worldwide

That’s my fight for hope over hate
And Im not giving up
☮️
11/11