Law enforcement has launched a criminal investigation after Tanveer Patel, a Muslim business leader and candidate for Hoover City Council Place 1, received explicit death threats and a deluge of Islamophobic slurs and online harassment. The Hoover Police Department has confirmed it has identified a suspect and is expected to release a public statement. The FBI has also been contacted.
What began as ugly, conspiratorial Facebook comments quickly escalated into language unmistakably rooted in violent intent. One message directly stated: “You will be shot to death.” Another, posted under her campaign announcement, asked, “How come we’re not allowed to just shoot and kill these people and get them out of our f**** country?”
Another commenter wrote: “Maybe you’ll digress on August 26th at 7:01,” a sinister reference to the time polls open and a veiled threat against Patel’s life.
A police report was filed Friday. Sources close to the investigation say Hoover Police have identified the individual who made the most explicit threats. A press conference is scheduled for later today where Patel’s legal counsel will address public safety concerns and affirm that the upcoming August 26 municipal election must proceed without intimidation or interference.
“This is not just about me,” Patel said in a brief statement shared with APR. “This is about whether the people of Hoover believe that democracy is sacred—and whether every citizen, regardless of faith or background, has the right to serve.”
The comments, which remain public in many cases, were made in direct response to Patel’s campaign materials. Some used vile slurs such as “raghead,” “sandflea,” and “poonjet,” while others invoked religious conspiracy theories, accusing Patel of being part of a secret Islamic plot to infiltrate Hoover’s government. One poster called her a “pedophile false profit,” misspelling the word “prophet” while flipping off any Alabamian who would vote for her.
“Muslims are Satan’s minions,” Kenneth C. Nelson wrote. “YOU ALL WILL BE SORRY.”
Martin Watson, a repeat offender across multiple posts, went on a tirade, accusing Patel and other Middle Eastern Americans of terrorism. In one post, he wrote:
“You’re f****** pieces of garbage… you need to get the f*** out of my country and take the f****** sheets off your head.”
“You are all evil people. You’ve got no business here. You’re gonna get it right back.”
He accused Patel of representing Hezbollah and added, “You f**** Middle Eastern people need to get the f*** out of our country.”
And it wasn’t just profanity. Watson’s tirades repeatedly called for physical violence:
“Are you be shot to death?”
“Why don’t you go back to Iraq, to Sudan, to Iran?”
“Why don’t you get the f* out of our g****** country?”
Some users attempted to mask their bigotry in vague references to “security” or “culture,” but the implication was clear. Barr Thurman wrote, “Don’t vote for anything in a hijab.” David Guest added, “No absolutely not. This is Hoover. Democratic by definition. Hell no.”
Screenshots of hateful comments and death threats on Tanveer Patel’s Facebook page.
The rhetoric wasn’t limited to individuals. Comment threads quickly became echo chambers for hate, with comments like “Ban all poonjets and hadjis from American politics,” and “This is exactly how it started in Europe” receiving likes and shares. In one reply, Barbara Kile Mathews simply wrote, “No.”
Even those calling for calm or expressing support for Patel were quickly shouted down or ignored.
Civil rights attorneys and interfaith leaders have rallied in support, calling the threats “a test of the city’s moral backbone.”
“This kind of hate doesn’t just threaten one woman—it threatens all of us,” said one supporter. “If we allow this to go unchallenged, then the ballot box becomes a battleground for terror, not a place of peaceful decision-making.”
At stake is not just the safety of one candidate, but the broader principle of American self-government.
What’s happening in Hoover is not a disagreement over policy. It’s not politics as usual. It is hate, weaponized. It is fear, codified into threats. It is the unmistakable stench of violent extremism hiding behind Facebook profiles and fake patriotism.
And it has no place in the United States.
Let us be clear: there is no freedom without safety, no democracy without inclusion, and no patriotism in threatening to murder your neighbor because they don’t look like you or pray like you.
Tanveer Patel is an American. She is a community leader. She is a candidate for local office.
And no one—no one—should have to risk their life for daring to put their name on a ballot.
