A California woman has angered many on the internet after gleefully showing the moment a pair of Alaska cops let her off during a traffic stop when she presented a "White Privilege Card" instead of her driver's license.
The card is a piece of Donald Trump-themed merch sold by supporters of the former Republican President.
The woman, Mimi Israelah, had traveled to Anchorage, Alaska from California to attend the former President's rally there last month, accoring to her since-deleted Facebook post about the matter.
Israelah filmed the encounter, in which she and the cops share hearty laughs about the encounter, which is both illegal and a violation of the Anchorage Police Department's policies. See a screen capture of the video below.
\u201cShe gets pulled over whilst going to a trump rally. Shows her \u201cwhite privilege card\u201d to the piece of \ud83d\udca9 cop who lets her go with smiles all around. \n\n#DefundThePolice #TrumpCult \n\u201d— Warchild \u24cb (@Warchild \u24cb) 1659886136
In her post, Israelah, who describes herself as being of Filipino descent in her Twitter bio, said she was pulled over for weaving across the road in Anchorage.
She wrote that she couldn't find her driver's license, so she presented the White Privilege Card, emblazoned with the phrase "White Privilege Card Trumps Everything," instead.
The video shows Israelah dressed in full MAGA regalia, asking Anchorage Police Officers Nicholas Bowe and Charles Worland if they like the White Privilege Card, to which one replied, "That's hilarious."
Israelah was let off without a ticket, according to the Anchorage Daily News. The incident is in violation of the Anchorage Police Department's rules, but the Department would not give further details, calling the incident a private matter.
Police union president Sergeant Sean Conklin defended the officers' handling of the situation, telling the Daily News:
“Especially in this circumstance, where you had a very, very low-level minor offense and the officers are really just focused on trying to find DUIs — I’m not at all surprised they didn’t write a citation."
"I don’t know that a lot of officers would have written that citation, if any."
But given the frequency with which people of color are routinely abused and murdered by police during minor traffic stops, many have taken issue with that explanation, including Alaska Black Caucus President Celeste Hodge Growden, who questioned whether it was the White Privilege Card and shared support for Trump that got Israelah out of the traffic stop.
On Twitter, people were disgusted by what they saw in Israelah's video.
Ew. Not funny. No different than telling a racial joke. That’s a lack of human decency & empathy card she flashed, and the cops flashed theirs back to her.
— Jonah Lisa Dyer (@JonahLisa) August 5, 2022
It seems as long as you are not African American or Black, you can flash that card and not be brutalized by rogue cops. The truth always surfaces. I am sure an unarmed, non-threatening POC would have never gotten a pass for not finding their license. Wow and wow.
— Brenda (@brim4peacetoday) August 6, 2022
\u201cMelanin doesn\u2019t dictate race or racial identity.\n\nThese people get to access both white privilege & minority status at their choosing. It\u2019s a con. https://t.co/Ggpu4Pvbj9\u201d— Yvette Carnell\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Yvette Carnell\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1659804210
\u201c@jeyoung1422 Imagine waving a "white privilege card" (issued by Trump campaign) trying to get out of a traffic ticket instead of just handing them your license. \nWhat kind of excuse is not having a license and driving?\u201d— 6WardDumaine (@6WardDumaine) 1659705377
\u201cNot sure what is worse, that the police officers did not give her a ticket, or that there is such a thing as a "white privilege card".\u201d— Mike C (@Mike C) 1659834110
\u201chttps://t.co/OgvFgobcKm please make it make sense when this woman is clearly not white???? What in the entire F-ck!!??\u201d— Tedcruz\u2019s Troll (@Tedcruz\u2019s Troll) 1659717636
\u201c@NBCNews And people say white privilege don\u2019t exist.\u201d— NBC News (@NBC News) 1659906062
\u201cI have so many questions.\n\nThis lady in Alaska was coming home from a Trump rally.\n\nShe was stopped by the cops and didn't have her driver's license.\n\nSo, she gave them her "White Privilege Trumps Everything" card instead. \n\nAnd they let her go.\n\n\ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\n\n\u201d— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@Holly Figueroa O'Reilly) 1659802956
\u201cWould this woman have gotten a citation if she handed the cops a Black Lives Matter card? #blm\nhttps://t.co/FXqGsZUHbs\u201d— Joe Madison (@Joe Madison) 1659972540
Both officers were placed on administrative leave while the police department conducted its investigation, but it is unclear if they faced any repercussions for the incident.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram