Muslim Woman Called Sand Nigger in Note

RIVERSIDE – A Muslim woman, who was called away to be with her critically ill sister at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on Oct. 7, returned home at 2:30 a.m. to find a pile of four of Sheriff Stan Sniff’s campaign signs in her yard. They had been ripped from their metal poles, torn and heaped on Halimah B. Shenghur’s lawn.

On the pile of signs was a picture of Sniff, flanked by three women, with a note written in black capital letters that read: “The Sniffester, his sexy sand lizard and his two groupies.” The picture of Sniff with the trio of women was taken at a Law Enforcement Appreciation Committee dinner in the spring.

Shenghur is both a friend and a supporter, Sniff said.

Both Sniff and Shenghur place the blame for the vandalized signs and abhorrent note squarely at feet of Lt. Chad Bianco’s campaign and his supporters. Sniff and Bianco, both Republicans, are in a hotly contested race for Riverside County Sheriff in the California General Election in November.

Sniff said he will not be surprised if the incident isn’t filed as a hate crime.

Shenghur, who works for Riverside County as an urban/regional planner, has been “vilified,” Sniff said.

“I’m so friggin’ angry,” Sniff said, his voice growing louder. “It’s gang terrorism. It’s pretty scary. I’m very sure it’s the Bianco campaign. It has the same tenor and tone. I absolutely believe that.”

Andre Levesque, a spokesman for Bianco, told Uken Report, “Obviously anyone who would do such a disgusting thing is not a part of the Chad Bianco campaign because that isn’t what Chad Bianco is about.”

Exhausted after standing vigil with her ill sister all day, Shenghur said she felt the weight of what greeted her completely overwhelming.

“I just sat there and cried,” Shenghur said. “It was like I suffered 1,000 deaths in 12 hours. Where is their moral compass?”

She has spoken with the Riverside Police Chief who also suggested that the heinous act, perpetrated in a gated community, qualifies as a hate crime. Sniff said the gate to the walled community was fixed so it would not lock.

“It’s so degrading,” Shenghur told Uken Report in a telephone interview. “This is not how people should be treated. It hurts me. I can’t talk. I’m going to cry.”

There was a pause as she settled her quivering voice.

“The thing that hurts is that I know there are good people and I know hate breeds hate,” Shenghur she said. “This is beyond disgusting. It happened right on my front lawn.”

On Wednesday morning, Shenghur, who does not use social media, sent Sniff a note, asking that he post it on his Facebook page. He obliged.

Her note, unedited and in its entirety, reads as follows:

“Disgusted, Disappointed, and straight out Disgraceful. Thank you Mr. Bianco for bringing this kind of HATRED to my front door. I am a God fearing woman. I’m a daughter. I’m one of 9 sisters. I’m a public servant. I’m an immigrant. I’m an advocate for our Veterans and Law Enforcement Officers. I stand by our LGBT Community. I pray for the Fallen and their families. I wear God’s name around my neck and I wear a Cross on my left hand where it’s supposed to be, close to my heart. I’m sinner just like you. BUT NO, SIR, I AM NOT A SAND NIGGER. My name is Halimah and I’m a human being who has a heart and a soul and I’m deeply saddened by what you think of ME!”

In posting her message, Sniff wrote that, “She and so many others in our dept (sic) and our communities have been targeted by the now-infamous, bigoted Sheriff campaign “attack” blog.”