The unidentified woman who got egged Thursday night at a raucous Donald Trump rally became a flashpoint and a trending Twitter moment as the Republican presidential candidate spoke at the San Jose Convention Center.
Her identity remained a mystery on Friday. Even a front desk employee at the Hilton San Jose hotel where she was attacked, didn't think she was a guest there.
But her image was documented by reporters, citizen journalists and photographers, showing the aftermath of what happened to her: Her blond hair and cheeks were streaked with egg yolk.
Sara Murray from CNN also captured the woman, who appears to be in her 30s and wearing a red-white-and-blue USA Trump T-shirt, entering the hotel, which is connected to the convention center. Murray tweeted that the woman “flipped the bird and taunted” anti-Donald Trump protesters, who in turn, threw egg on her. Other witnesses told NBC Bay Area that the woman and her friend were harassing them, and yelling racist remarks before the egg was lobbed. [[381764371, C]]
Before the egging, video taken by NBC News correspondent Jacob Rascon showed Trump haters holding Mexico's flag and yelled the F--- word at her, and blowing loud horns in a tense protest that left one police officer assaulted and yielded "a few arrests."
In an interview Friday, Rascon said it's possible the woman flipped off Trump critics earlier, but he didn't see it. He said he watched the scene for about two minutes and only saw her getting harassed. "She was rushed," he said.
After she was egged, the woman didn't flinch. Instead, she smiled and fist-pumped the air, despite being covered in goo.
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Rascon said he didn't get the woman's name as she "went right into the hotel" after she was hit.
Whether getting egged was appropriate opened a vigorous debate about the First Amendment, which allows for free speech, but not for physical harm. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo had harsh words for Trump, but also for the violent protesters. Many on the right bashed "liberals" and Mexicans for being the likely perpetrators. Even those on the left said they were embarrassed for the unnecessary vitriol. The Associated Press noted that at least a dozen or more people were punched and Trump hats were snatched off heads and set on fire.
The anonymous woman wasn't the only person egged at a Trump-fest. In April, Santiago Mejia, a New York photographer, snapped a photo of a bearded man with glasses looking at some egg yolk on his shirt.
