On Friday, the RAIR (Rise Align Ignite Reclaim) USA Foundation, which describes itself as grassroots activist organization comprised of everyday Americans leading a movement to reclaim our Republic from the network of individuals and organizations waging war on Americans, our Constitution, our borders and our Judeo-Christian values posted an article on their website about some recent events in Holly Springs, North Carolina.
The article reports:
Sloan Rachmuth, a Jewish journalist and political commentator, was arrested at her home in front of her terrified children on November 3, 2024. Her alleged crime? According to Rachmuth, she objected to a supermarket employee at Harris Teeter wearing the controversial keffiyeh, a political symbol widely associated with Hamas and its ambitions to destroy Israel and the Jewish people worldwide.
Rachmuth, an outspoken advocate against antisemitism and a contributor to national media outlets on Middle Eastern affairs, explained to RAIR Foundation in an exclusive interview that she was handcuffed, marched through her neighborhood, and charged with cyberstalking, posting about the troubling incident online.
Rachmuth explained the police never asked for her side of the story, nor investigated the credibility of the alleged victim. Her arrest was based solely on an unverified accusation, raising serious concerns about law enforcement’s complicity in this apparent retaliation.
Rather than uphold its corporate attire and political expression policies, Harris Teeter—a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., the largest supermarket chain in America—ignored its regulations. Indeed, Harris Teeter allowed an employee to wear a threatening symbol of Islamic and Palestinian terrorism, visibly wrapping it around her head while working with customers.
The article includes a summary of the event that led to her arrest:
On October 31, 2024, Rachmuth entered Harris Teeter on Sunset Lake Road in Holly Springs, North Carolina, a store where she had shopped regularly for seven years. According to Rachmuth, as she checked out, she noticed an employee handling food while wearing a keffiyeh—a garment long associated with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and frequently worn by Hamas militants and supporters. In America, the keffiyeh has been used as a rallying icon for violence against Jews during demonstrations. Even countries like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt—both Arab nations—have banned its political use, recognizing its ties to Islamic groups.
Aware of its political significance, Rachmuth says she politely asked the employee, Amira M. Fattah, “It’s Halloween; are you wearing this as a costume?” Fattah replied, “No, it’s for Free Palestine,” confirming she wore the keffiyeh as a political statement rather than for religious reasons.
As a Jewish woman and a longtime customer, Rachmuth was deeply uncomfortable with a store employee openly supporting an ideology that symbolized the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people while handling food. While at the store, Rachmuth escalated her concerns to store manager Sheronna Irick, expecting Harris Teeter to uphold its policies against political speech in the workplace.
Instead of addressing the hostile work environment created by an employee wearing a symbol of Jewish oppression, Irick dismissed Rachmuth’s complaint outright and told her, “Like it or leave.”
…Frustrated by the store manager’s hostile response, Rachmuth turned to social media and posted about the encounter on X (formerly Twitter). She included a photo of the employee wearing the keffiyeh—showing only the employee’s profile—along with a caption questioning the corporation’s stance on political speech in the workplace.
…Three days later, after Rachmuth’s X post, Holly Springs Police officers—Elliott Warren, Benjamin Marino, and Edgar Hernandez—arrived at Rachmuth’s home and began pounding on her door.
The article includes the outcome of the case:
In a letter to Rachmuth dated January 9, 2023, the police admitted that they had thoroughly analyzed the documentation, consulted with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC-SBI), and ultimately concluded that the harassment fell under ‘First Amendment protected speech’—even though it included threats, public exposure of personal records, and clear targeting of her family. In an email, the police chief justified inaction by citing the need to follow a chain of command before presenting charges for judicial review.
Yet, regarding her arrest, no such legal scrutiny or procedural delay was observed, as evidenced by the charges being dropped within 24 hours. She was promptly taken into custody without the due diligence police had claimed was necessary in previous cases. The statute requires ‘repeated’ communication directly to a person, a requirement absent from the arrest warrant. Furthermore, North Carolina courts have overturned similar cases on constitutional grounds.
Questions remain over who ordered her arrest. The DA was not involved in the initial decision—as later suggested when Freeman personally called her to confirm there was no case. Was this the work of a police department eager to silence her? She argues that the lack of due process in her case, compared to the meticulous legal caution used when she was the victim, speaks volumes about the selective enforcement of the law.
Please follow the link above to read the entire article. This was definitely a violation of Rachmuth’s First Amendment rights. It’s sad to think this can happen anywhere.
