DEARBORN ~ Hundreds of protestors are flooding Dearborn Tuesday evening for a right-wing, anti-Muslim march.
Titled the “Christian Crusader March” by the AI-generated poster for the event, the demonstration is being led by anti-Muslim agitator Jake Lang and Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell, with the former making frequent inflammatory visits to Dearborn over the past year. The city, which is home to the proportionally largest Muslim population in the U.S., announced last week that increased police presence would be in place for the visit, though it will still respect free speech.
City officials, such as Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin, suggested that residents stay home as to not give attention to the outside protestors.
“These groups that are coming here are coming for one reason, and that’s to provoke a reaction and generate attention,” Shahin said. “If nobody shows up to react, they have nothing.”
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud also commented on the planned march.
“Their ranks include a former Jan. 6 insurrectionist, and others who have turned the demonization of Muslim Americans into a cottage industry, trading vile insults for likes and shares on social media,” he wrote on social media. “And while their bogeyman of choice is the phony threat of ‘Islamification,’ what this small minority despises most are the American ideals that make a place like Dearborn possible in the first place.
“Anyone who wishes to exercise their First Amendment rights should feel free to do so ‒ and they have done so for decades. But there’s a reason I’ve asked Dearborn families who don’t have business before the City Council to stay home. Those who peddle hate for a living don’t need our business. And in our algorithmic age, attention is currency.”
Lang, a long-time right-wing activist who has voiced anti-Islamic rhetoric, previously served prison time for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Dearborn is home to one of the most vibrant communities in America,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Tuesday. “Its residents are our friends and our neighbors. Today, a group of agitators is traveling to Dearborn for the sole purpose of intimidating that community and provoking a reaction. Their plan emboldens and contributes to dangerous behavior, and I am asking every person of good will to denounce it. Their hate has no place in Michigan.“
