Attorney defends woman seen on video using hate speech at mosque
PHOENIX — Two Arizona women pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of burglary and criminal damage for allegedly taking pamphlets and other items from a Tempe mosque.
Authorities say 32-year-old Tahnee Gonzales of Glendale and 51-year-old Elizabeth Dauenhauer of Phoenix filmed themselves and their children at the Islamic Community Center on March 4 as they spouted hate speech while they removed flyers and Qurans.
A video posted on Gonzales' Facebook page shows the women and their children walking past the mosque's no-trespassing sign.
The video shows the women walking past a no-trespassing sign on a gate leading into the courtyard. It also depicts the women describing Muslims as "Satan worshippers" and making other derogatory remarks about Muslims.
An attorney for one of the women says his client's case is about her exercise of free speech rights. Marc Victor, an attorney representing Gonzales, says his client's intent in going to the mosque was to make political statements.
Victor says the mosque is open to the public, and that Islamic center intended for people to take the material that the women walked away with.
The Arizona Republic reports that the women deleted their Facebook accounts after the video went viral.