Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in custody for the recent attack in New York City, is a 29-year-old former Uber driver. Originally from Uzbekistan, he reportedly was inspired to commit the attack after watching by ISIS propaganda videos. After the tragedy, far-right activist Laura Loomer responded with this tweet criticizing the ride-share company.
Loomer followed up with more anti-Muslim tweets, including “Someone needs to create a non-Islamic form of Uber or Lyft because I never want to support another Islamic immigrant driver.” She also criticized people wearing hijabs near the scene of the crime, saying they were “rubbing it in.” Loomer’s disgusting response to the tragedy was criticized across the media.
After Loomer’s outburst, both Uber and Lyft informed Business Insider they had canceled Loomer’s accounts for violating the community guidelines. Loomer’s (somewhat predictable) response: “Uber will literally hire an Islamic terrorist, but they will ban a conservative journalist for addressing legitimate safety concerns.”
Last June, Loomer made headlines after disrupting a performance of “Julius Caesar” in New York City. In this interpretation of the Shakespeare play, the assassinated Roman dictator resembled Donald Trump and had a Slovenian wife. While being escorted off the stage, she shouted, “Stop the normalization of political violence against the right! This is unacceptable!” Loomer is also a former writer for Project Veritas, a group affiliated with right-wing provocateur James O’Keefe known for making deceptive videos.
Share images via Laura Loomer/Twitter.