'Suicide bomber': Muslim town official hit by racist comments at Illinois meeting

A Muslim city trustee was hit with racist comments during a public meeting in Illinois, ABC7 reported.

Reem Townsend, who is a Muslim and daughter of Palestinian immigrants, was speaking last month at a DuPage Township meeting to discuss a proposed food pantry and resource center. While she was addressing a constituent, she heard a man in the audience say, "Well, [I] didn't know that she was a suicide bomber."

"I felt like this was an attack on being Palestinian," she said. "It was like, demonizing me and like, as if he's trying to make me not like I'm a real person."

Later, the constituent she was addressing made a comment of his own.

"As I was answering one of his statements, he said, 'Oh, you just go back to eating your lunch,'" she recalled.

"I was able to stand up and say 'excuse me, it's Ramadan. I don't eat from sunup to sundown. When we eat this late it means we only eat one meal a day and I'm going to eat my food," she said.

Townsend has had an influx of support after the incident. She even got a call from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

"He just called to tell me how sorry and how awful that is. And you know, not to let this bring me down, but more people support me and he asked me what he can do to support me," Townsend said.

In a statement, Prtizker tweeted, "I commend Trustee Townsend for her bravery and perseverance in the face of such attacks, and stand by her and other Muslim and Palestinian Illinoisans calling for an end to the hateful rhetoric perpetuated against their communities."

"I just hope that like other Muslims and other Palestinians don't see this and get discouraged," Townsend said. "And I'm not going to let this hold me back from anything."