The first hijab-wearing Miss Wayne County rode through a Memorial Day parade in Michigan on Monday, drawing a wave of Islamophobic and racist backlash online, including from far-right and MAGA-aligned accounts.
Ameera Hashwi, a Lebanese-American attorney, was crowned Miss Wayne County in 2025, becoming the first titleholder in the pageant’s history to wear a headscarf. She is set to compete in the Miss Michigan 2026 pageant later this year.
Marking the 100th Memorial Day parade in Dearborn, Hashwi represented Wayne County, which includes Detroit and some of its suburbs as she rode on the back of a car, waving to crowds of spectators while holding an American flag.
The annual event commemorates fallen soldiers through a military procession and public ceremony.
Footage of Hashwi at the parade quickly circulated across social media platforms, particularly on X, where far-right accounts amplified the clips, generating thousands of views within 24 hours.
The posts prompted a surge of hostile responses, with some users directing Islamophobic and derogatory comments at the 25-year-old.
Among those engaging with the footage was anti-Islam influencer Valentina Gomez, who wrote: “She’d be stoned for showing her face in any sharia nation.”
Gomez, a Colombian-American political figure known for her hardline views, has attracted controversy in recent months and was barred from entering the UK last month ahead of a planned far-right rally.
Dearborn, which in 2023 became the first Arab-majority city in the United States, is home to the Arab American National Museum and the largest mosque in North America.
