Assault charge expected for woman in Masham, Que., face covering dispute

A Quebec police department says they’re expecting to lay an assault charge for a woman who allegedly shoved another woman over a face covering dispute.

According to Andre Levesque, an inspector with the Police MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais, officers were called to a gas station in Masham, Que., a small village northwest of Gatineau, on Saturday around 7 p.m. to respond to an altercation between two women.

Police say a woman was pushed by another woman after being accused of not wearing a face covering appropriately.

The alleged victim filed a complaint with police and Levesque says they are in the process of laying an assault charge.

On Monday, a Twitter account simply named “MH” recounted a similar story, but said she was accosted by both the gas station’s staff and another woman because she chose to wear her hijab as a face covering.

MH says she believes the incident was an act of racism and discrimination, since she and her friend both visibly Muslim and Black women.

The Twitter account goes into detail about the gas station attendee calling police despite the alleged victim explaining it’s legally acceptable to use a hijab as a face covering.

MH then says a second woman involved herself in the argument, following her, berating her and her friend, and then eventually shoving her into her car.

MH also claims that local police treated her and her friend harshly, including shouting at them to get in their car and to get off their phones.

MH said their treatment by police was “traumatizing and completely out of hand.”

Levesque said his officers acted appropriately, and that they were treating the incident very seriously. He did not comment any further on any allegations put forward by MH.

The owner of the Twitter account has yet to respond to a request for an interview.