U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned the stabbing of a Sikh truck driver in Wyoming, linking the attack to rising hostility toward Sikh and South Asian Americans and criticizing a controversial DHS social media post.
U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) has publicly condemned the stabbing of a Sikh truck driver at a rest stop in Wyoming, while also criticizing a recent social media post from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that referenced “Mr. Singh” in an immigration enforcement message.
The driver, who was only identified by his last name, reported to NPR that he was followed into a bathroom at a southern Wyoming rest area early Sunday morning, where he was stabbed multiple times. He sustained injuries to his neck, chest, and ribs and remained hospitalized as of Wednesday night, according to NPR.
Local authorities arrested Andrew Kris Bzdak, 45, charging him with attempted first-degree murder. The charging documents cited by NPR did not specify a motive for the attack. The driver described the incident as unprovoked and credited a Hispanic family at the rest stop for assisting him after he was injured and for seeking medical help.
In a statement, Krishnamoorthi expressed his horror at the attack and connected it to what he perceives as a growing hostility toward Sikh and South Asian Americans. “Those spreading this hate, including officials in our own federal government, need to stop. Those who turn it into violence must be held accountable,” he stated. “And all of us need to stand together against both.”
Krishnamoorthi also took issue with a DHS social media post published earlier in September that depicted a brown, bearded man identified as “Mr. Singh” in a graphic reminiscent of the Transformers franchise. The post instructed the character to “get off our roads” and “self-deport or find out.” Following backlash from lawmakers and advocacy groups, the DHS later removed the post.
The congressman highlighted the problematic nature of using the surname Singh, which is widely associated with Sikh identity. In a statement on September 10, he noted that over 160,000 people in the United States share this surname and argued that its use in the DHS post could cast suspicion on Sikh and South Asian communities.
Krishnamoorthi joined fellow Representatives Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Ami Bera (D-Calif.) in calling on President Donald Trump to address the DHS post and the use of racial, ethnic, and religious stereotypes in federal communications.
The lawmakers expressed concern that the now-deleted post portrayed Sikh identity as that of an unwanted foreigner, warning that such government messaging could exacerbate hostility toward Sikh and South Asian Americans. They urged the administration to acknowledge the concerns raised by the post and to establish standards against racial, ethnic, religious, and national-origin stereotypes in federal communications.
The stabbing incident has drawn renewed attention from South Asian and Sikh communities, particularly due to its timing, which coincided with the controversial DHS post. While NPR reported that community members are worried about the broader climate of rhetoric targeting South Asians, authorities have not publicly established a racial or religious motive for the attack in Wyoming.
Krishnamoorthi expressed his prayers for the driver’s recovery and extended gratitude to the family that aided him after the attack. The investigation into the stabbing is ongoing, while the congressional criticism of the DHS post continues to focus on how federal immigration messaging affects the portrayal of Sikh and South Asian Americans.
According to NPR, the incident has sparked significant concern within the community regarding the implications of such violence and the narratives surrounding it.