A naturalized citizen originally from Ethiopia refused to stay quiet about a harassment incident at her gym.
Samrawit Hailu was working out on an ab machine at Onelife Fitness in Martinsburg, West Virginia, when a white man interrupted her, shouting “this is my country” and demanding that she leave. She said he was miffed that her workout was taking too long.
Hailu quickly pressed “play” on her camera and captured what happened next. After sharing the video with police, she took to social media to expose him. Her Oct. 7 TikTok video has been reshared multiple times, and police are now investigating the incident.
“While I understand I’m an immigrant, I’m also American,” she wrote in the video’s caption. “He had no right to bully me or intimidate me.”
In the video, Hailu tells the offender several times to back off. “Don’t get too close to me now,” she said, later adding, “you can’t stare me down while I’m working out. You have to step away.”
After threatening to call the police on her, the man launched into a rant about being an American.
“This is my f–king country. This ain’t your country,” he snapped, telling her to leave immediately. “Hurry up. Hurry the f–k up.” After telling him to step back again, he finally grabbed his gym bag and water bottle, but not before one last ominous warning. “You haven’t seen close,” he said.
Hailu said she showed the video to both the police and the gym’s management, but was frustrated with the gym’s initial response.
“I was hoping [the manager] would say he will remove his membership,” she wrote. “Like I said in one of my comments, nobody cared because he didn’t physically assault me.”
She later posted an update in the comments on X that Onelife Fitness eventually revoked the man’s membership. She is still waiting to find out whether the police will file charges.
Viewer support has been pouring in. Hundreds of people across multiple platforms are applauding how she handled such an unnerving situation.
“Great job not being intimidated by him!” wrote one. Another said, “I’m so proud of you for standing your ground.”
