Two women known for uttering anti-Muslim vitriol at Phoenix-area political events were arrested Thursday after they filmed themselves and their children spouting hate speech while removing flyers and pamphlets from a local mosque.
Tempe police spokeswoman Lily Duran said Tahnee Gonzales and Elizabeth Dauenhauer were taken into custody around 3 p.m. Both were booked into Tempe City Jail on suspicion of third-degree burglary for entering the Islamic Community Center of Tempe and removing various items.
Islamic Community Center officials filed a police report after learning of the video last week. Before the arrests, Imam Ahmad Alakoum said they would push for hate crime charges.
“You could tell from the video it is hate speech and a hate crime in my opinion was being perpetrated from the beginning,” Alakoum said.
