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Tag: Dearborn

  • Trump’s DOJ eyes Dearborn’s Muslims, not the racist insurrectionist who terrorized them – Detroit Metro Times

    Just two days after a violent Jan. 6 defendant marched into Dearborn with a bulletproof vest to taunt Muslims by yelling racial slurs and slapping a Quran with a bag of bacon, a top Trump administration official is now suggesting the U.S. Department of Justice may investigate the people he provoked.

    Shortly before midnight Thursday, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, responded to a tweet by Jake Lang, the convicted rioter who assaulted police at the U.S. Capitol and called Muslims in Dearborn the n-word, “chimps,” “pedophiles,” and “invaders.” He’s an avowed racist, and at a Dearborn City Council meeting after the march, Lang told Muslims to “get the fuck out,” saying, “You will never look like us. You will never eat like us. You won’t build buildings like us. You are nothing.”

    Dhillon, a loyal Trump supporter who has a history of defending far-right provocateurs and peddling conspiracy theories, encouraged Lang in a tweet to “reach out to us please with the information needed to start an investigation.” 

    Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. Credit: DOJ

    Dhillon was responding to a nine-minute video that Lang posted of conservative culture-war pundit Matt Walsh selectively highlighting brief moments when counter-protesters reacted to hours of racial slurs, taunting, and harassment.

    Walsh, a Daily Wire commentator known for targeting LGBTQ+ people, attacking Muslims, and mobilizing his followers against marginalized communities, called Lang a victim of “violent Muslims,” omitting that Lang spent the day calling people the n-word, mocking them with monkey noises, waving bacon in their faces, and threatening to burn the Quran.

    Lang’s tweet racked up more than 360,000 views in 16 hours, fueling islamophobic outrage from X users who only saw the carefully clipped moments designed to make Muslims look like out-of-control, intolerant aggressors. By replying, Dhillon poured gas on a manufactured fire and could put Dearborn in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. 

    Her response quickly drew a wide range of reactions, including from Trump supporters who warned she was being duped.

    “Don’t fall for this. Lang is a provocateur who went looking for trouble. Did you see the video of him yelling the N word at people?” one outspoken MAGA supporter from Detroit wrote.

    Another user asked, “Defending instigators trying to spark a holy war. Why?”

    Others cheered Dhillon on and demanded immigration sweeps. 

    “Make ICE set up shop in Dearborn,” one X user wrote.

    Some responses were openly racist toward Dhillon, with users insisting, “You won’t do crap, you hate White people” and “Not sure if a person named Harmeet is gonna protect the constitution but good luck.”

    Dhillon said nothing about Lang’s harassment, bigotry, or the multiple instances of ethnic intimidation he engaged in Tuesday as he marched through a diverse city in a bulletproof vest and antagonized residents.

    She said nothing about the slurs that Lang hurled at teenagers. Nothing about him calling non-white people the n-word. Nothing about him telling Muslims they were “chimping out,” making monkey noises at them, or calling them “violent, disgusting people.”

    Nor did she say anything about the fact that Lang is a Jan. 6 rioter who repeatedly assaulted police with a bat and riot shield, or that a federal judge found he “remains willing to engage in additional acts of violence.”

    Instead, the first instinct of Trump’s DOJ was to consider investigating the handful of Muslims and allies who responded physically, including one person who punched Lang and ran and another who pepper-sprayed him.

    Dhillon’s willingness to take cues from far-right influencers follows the Trump administration’s pattern of targeting Black and brown people while ignoring white supremacists, including those with violent records.

    On the first day of his second term on Jan. 20, Trump granted blanket clemency to nearly 1,600 people charged or convicted in the Jan. 6 attack, including Lang, giving most full pardons and commuting the sentences of 14 Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The group included more than 600 rioters convicted of assaulting or obstructing police and 170 who used deadly weapons.

    To be clear, Tuesday’s incident in Dearborn was not a spontaneous “clash,” as depicted by some local and national media. It was the culmination of Lang’s years-long attempt to portray Muslim Americans as violent, hateful, and intolerant of other religions. And it worked for many conservatives. His footage was spun by right-wing commentators to claim Dearborn was a “Muslim stronghold” attacking Christians.

    But as documented on hours of live streams, Lang and a small crew went to a peaceful city to manufacture chaos, terrorize residents, and film their reactions. 

    Now the nation’s top law enforcement agency may be preparing to act on the propaganda. While Dhillon’s statement does not guarantee an investigation, her willingness to entertain Lang’s claims raises the risks that right-wingers will increasingly target and surveil Muslims in Dearborn and neighboring cities. 

    Dearborn’s 106,000 residents include Christians, Muslims, and non-religious people. About half the city’s residents aren’t Muslim. 

    This isn’t just a political stunt executed by right-wing racists and agitators. If the Trump administration starts investigating communities targeted by white extremists, it sets a dangerous precedent that won’t stop with Dearborn or Muslims.


    Steve Neavling

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  • How racist provocateur Jake Lang tried to manufacture chaos in Dearborn – Detroit Metro Times

    Right-wing provocateur and avowed racist Jake Lang arrived in Dearborn on Tuesday with a bulletproof vest, a Quran he threatened to burn, and a bag of bacon he shoved into people’s faces. 

    The Florida man also brought a criminal history: The Jan. 6 rioter was charged with repeatedly beating police officers with a baseball bat and riot shield, and a federal judge found that he “remains willing to engage in additional acts of violence.” President Donald Trump pardoned him and the other insurrectionists.

    That’s who marched into a peaceful, largely Arab American city and tried to start a fight.

    Lang, a Jewish Christian who openly calls himself a racist, came to Dearborn with a small crew of followers and a camera. His goal wasn’t dialogue or protest. It was provocation, panic, and propaganda. And when Muslims and their supporters shouted back after he spent hours taunting them, he plastered social media with videos claiming he’d uncovered a “violent Muslim stronghold.” His livestreams racked up more than 200,000 views in half a day, with many sympathizing with him.

    It was a textbook use of DARVO, a manipulation tactic defined as “Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender.” First, the aggressor provokes and antagonizes. Then he denies wrongdoing, attacks those who push back, and reframes himself as the persecuted victim. Lang executed it step by step.

    Lang and his handful of supporters began congregating early in the afternoon, schlepping a banner reading, “Americans Against Islamification” and large, wooden crosses. He mocked the Arabic language. He told Muslims they were “violent, disgusting people,” waved bacon in their faces, and repeatedly used the n-word. He told one group they were “chimping out” and made monkey noises at teenagers.

    He threatened to burn a Quran.

    He prayed for God to “remove Muslims.”

    He declared Dearborn a “Christian country.”

    He called white people who supported their neighbors “white traitors.”

    He wasn’t hiding who he was. At one point he said outright: “I am a racist because I don’t want other races taking over my country.” He then launched into a white nationalist rant about whites having “conquered” America.

    As the march moved toward Dearborn City Hall, Lang ranted that “this is not America,” that Muslims “want us all dead,” and that the city was an “insurgency.” Despite all the taunting, he put on a performance of contrived innocence for the camera, repeatedly insisting he was shocked by how he was being treated.

    The media treated the debacle like a debate instead of an ambush, calling the rally “dueling demonstrations” and a “debate over religion.” One headline attempted to summarize the day as putting “focus on the Muslim community,” as if a racist agitator threatening to burn a Quran is a legitimate point of civic discussion.

    This is the problem with both-sides framing: It pretends the issue is religious disagreement rather than a violent Jan. 6 defendant traveling to a diverse city to harass residents and film their reactions. Dearborn’s 106,000 residents include Christians, Muslims, and non-religious people. Sharia law has never been practiced there, nor could it be, legally. About half the city’s residents aren’t Muslim. But Lang’s stunt relied on Americans who don’t know that.

    The performance worked on many viewers, who appeared convinced they were watching an Islamic uprising. 

    Among the responses:

    “Islam is robbing our country of unity.”

    “They are a disgrace.”

    “God asks us to stand up and fight against people who are his enemies.”

    “Jesus said to the bad people like these ‘You vipers, you son of snakes.’”

    This is all a bastardization of Christianity. It’s weaponized faith used as a racial weapon, not unlike American southerners who justified slavery by citing the Bible. 

    Later, as some young Muslims shouted back after two hours of taunts, insults, and monkey noises, Lang grinned at the camera. This was the moment he came for.

    “The Muslim community is looking to drag us back,” he said. “They’re looking to destroy everything that makes America great.”

    Outside City Hall as the sky grew dark, white police officers offered Lang’s group a protected space cordoned off by metal barriers. Lang scanned the crowd and said, “If they’re white and dressed normally, they’re allowed in.”

    During a public comment period at the council meeting, Lang whined that the white population is “on the decline.”

    He told the council and other Muslims, “You will never look like us. You will never eat like us. You won’t build buildings like us. You are nothing. You can build nothing. Just like President Trump’s great American friends have said: You guys are not us and get the fuck out.” 

    Then he raised his fist and said, “America first, America only, God bless America, Jesus is king.”

    In a triumphant tweet afterward, he wrote: “Today we showed THE WORLD just how VIOLENT and disgusting the Muslim Stronghold of Dearborn TRULY IS!! I was assaulted dozens of times by little twig Pedolphile worshipping Muslims.”

    Lang’s behavior in Dearborn wasn’t unlike some of the conduct that landed him in federal custody. Prosecutors say he played a front-line role in the Jan. 6 attack, hitting officers with a bat and riot shield. He publicly declared that the Capitol riot was justified and said the “next step” was “guns.”

    A federal judge found “overwhelming evidence” that he remains willing to commit violence, yet he continues to cast himself as a political prisoner. And now he’s acting like the victim of a city he visited to antagonize.

    Can you imagine if a group of Muslims showed up in a small Christian town to scream racial slurs, taunt teenagers, threaten to burn Bibles, and declare the area “Islam?” You can bet the reaction wouldn’t be peaceful. 

    Dearborn residents saw what Lang was doing. The cameras saw what he wanted them to see.

    And the rest of us should see it for what it is. It was not a protest, not a clash of cultures, but a racist agitator manufacturing chaos to feed his movement and his ego.


    Steve Neavling

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  • GOP gubernatorial candidate stokes anti-Muslim hate ahead of ‘American Crusade’ rally in Dearborn  – Detroit Metro Times

    A Republican gubernatorial candidate is spreading misinformation and stoking anti-Muslim sentiment ahead of a planned march in Dearborn that he’s calling the “American Crusade.”

    Anthony Hudson, a truck driver from Grand Blanc Township and self-described “America First” candidate, has used his social media platforms to portray Dearborn as a threat, falsely suggesting the Detroit suburb is facing “Muslim infiltration” and “Sharia law.”

    In a series of posts on X, Hudson announced plans for a “peaceful assembly” in Dearborn on Tuesday, calling on “patriots” to join him at Schaefer Road and Michigan Avenue at 4 p.m. He has repeatedly invoked Christian nationalist language, writing, “CHRIST WILL NOT BE MOCKED.” He also vowed to “expose Dearborn for what it is.”

    Hudson has also claimed that the National Guard, Marines, and a “Patriot Militia” will attend the march, though no official agencies have confirmed any involvement. 

    The group plans to pray and sing gospel music before attending a Dearborn City Council meeting at 7 p.m.

    In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Hudson wildly claimed he was the GOP’s frontrunner and that 5,000 “patriots” will march with him. But on the Facebook page for the event, only 20 people said they were going. 

    “we won’t be leaving until a peace treaty is reached,” Hudson wrote. “Mark my words. The world is watching. We need all patriots there.”

    He continued, “No backing down. No surrender. We the people will not be mocked, & neither will Christ.”

    In another post, Hudson wrote that “Sharia law will be banned.”

    Despite Hudson’s claims, Sharia law has never been practiced in Dearborn, nor would it be legally permissible under the U.S. Constitution. The city’s roughly 106,000 residents include Christians, Muslims, and non-religious people, with about 55% of Arab descent and an estimated 50,000 residents who are not Muslim.

    Other X users have mocked Muslims or encouraged bigotry in replies to Hudson’s posts. One suggested, “Bring bacon bits….it’s like sprinkling holy water on a demon.” 

    Hudson responded, “They are demons lol.”

    Another X user suggested bringing dogs, while others used pejoratives to describe Muslims. 

    The planned march follows the arrest of three young Dearborn men accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on an LGBTQ+-friendly venue in Ferndale. Federal prosecutors say the men discussed the idea online but were stopped before carrying out any violence. Defense attorneys maintain there was no plan and that the defendants were engaging in online bravado.

    Using the isolated and yet-proven case to justify his divisive rhetoric, Hudson falsely claimed there was Muslim “infiltration everywhere.”

    Hudson insisted, “CHRIST WILL PREVAIL. LIGHT WILL WIN.”

    On Tuesday, Hudson added fuel to the fire by posting a video of an anti-Muslim protest from 2011 in Dearborn, where Quran-burning Pastor Terry Jones taunted Muslims, leading to the arrests of a handful of counter-protesters. 

    “REMEMBER: THIS IS HOW THEY REALLY TREAT CHRISTIANS,” Hudson fumed. “DON’T LET THEM FOOL YOU. THEY HATE YOU. THEY DO NOT WANT PEACE. LIGHT WILL WIN.” 

    Since the FBI arrests, many right-wingers have been stoking fears with baseless and outrageous claims about Dearborn and Muslims. In a series of videos posted by conspiracy theorist Mellissa Carone, who was parodied on Saturday Night Live for her outlandish testimony as Rudy Giuliani’s “star” witness during a legislative election-fraud hearing, the bombastic Trump supporter alleged Muslims are intolerant and violent. She also inflated the Muslim population in Dearborn.  

    “A woman cannot walk down the street of east Dearborn and not get harassed in some way or even spit on,” Carone claimed. “I’ve seen friends of mine get spit on for not covering their hair and their face. You will not pass a building that is not written in Arabic. You cannot read anything. It’s like being in a third world country.” 

    The video was retweeted by Hudson and Wall Street Apes, another right-wing troll account that has 1.2 million followers. The video received 2.7 million views, leading to a barrage of Islamophobia. 

    Hudson also made national news for the march and was interviewed Tuesday by right-wing “news” site Newsmax.

    Others mocked Hudson for his absurd, conspiratorial claims. 

    “Just looks like a fat guy with cardiovascular issues making his beard go grey prematurely,” Anthony Jorah wrote on X. “What’s he protecting us from, dessert?”

    Hudson’s remarks have also drawn concern from civil rights advocates who warn that such language can incite harassment and deepen divisions.

    “Unfortunately, Mr. Hudson is playing the politics of fear to apparently gain himself publicity,” Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), tells Metro Times. “Every city in Michigan, including Dearborn, is under the jurisdictions of the American and Michigan constitutions. We encourage the citizens of Dearborn not to take the bait of this individual and his acolytes who will attempt to provoke angry responses in order to demonize Muslims.”

    Whether Hudson’s vitriolic, inflammatory, and divisive rhetoric can drum him up some votes isn’t yet clear. He has no statewide name recognition, and he’s facing well-known Republicans, including former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Rep. John James, former Michigan House of Representatives Speaker Tom Leonard, and Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt. Other GOP candidates are construction manager William Null, Pastor Ralph Rebandt, and political organizer Karla Wagner. 

    Beyond his odious rhetoric, Hudson is pushing a platform that would gut funding for schools, universities, police, health care, parks, libraries, and infrastructure. He has vowed to eliminate both the state income tax and property taxes, a proposal that economists say would devastate Michigan’s ability to fund essential services. The state income tax, which generates roughly $9 billion a year, accounts for most of the state’s general fund and a significant share of the School Aid Fund, which supports K-12 education. Without that revenue, lawmakers would have to slash spending or find new sources of funding for numerous resources and services.

    Property taxes bring in about $18.8 billion annually, according to the Michigan Tax Commission, and serve as the lifeblood of local governments. They fund police and fire departments, libraries, parks, local road repairs, and public schools. Eliminating property taxes would strip cities, counties, and school districts of their primary revenue source and leave them unable to pay for basic operations unless the state imposed new taxes elsewhere.

    Combined, property and income taxes make up more than half of Michigan’s total tax revenue. Scrapping both would create a multibillion-dollar hole in the state’s budget and cripple services. 

    Hudson declined to comment for this story, saying he wasn’t available until Friday. 

    Neither Dearborn police nor Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud returned calls for comment.


    Steve Neavling

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  • Trump-supporting Dearborn mayoral candidate faced lawsuits, unpaid debts, and foreclosure – Detroit Metro Times

    A conservative Dearborn mayoral candidate who has made “faith, family, and freedom” the centerpiece of his campaign has struggled to pay his own bills, even as he poured more than $50,000 into his race for mayor.

    Nagi Almudhegi, a 51-year-old Trump supporter, faces multiple lawsuits over unpaid debts and a recent foreclosure scare on his home, court and tax records show.

    LVNV Funding won a civil judgment of $26,811 against him in April for unpaid credit card debt after he failed to pay $26,575 he owed, court records show. A writ of garnishment was issued in August 2025 after non-payment. That same month, Portfolio Recovery Associates sued him in another debt case that remains open. 

    In 2009, the City of Wooster, Ohio sued Almudhegi for unpaid taxes. And records show he accumulated more than $3,400 in penalties for late property-tax payments on a Toledo business property.

    This summer, Almudhegi’s 894-square-foot home was in foreclosure for delinquent taxes, but it’s now current on taxes, according to county records.

    Despite those financial troubles, Almudhegi contributed more than $50,000 to his own mayoral campaign in October, a move that raises questions about how he can afford to self-fund while defaulting on past bills. 

    Almudhegi, who immigrated from Yemen at age 6 and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in chemical engineering, casts himself as a unifier who will restore “common sense” leadership to Dearborn. But his record tells a different story.

    At a 2022 rally outside Dearborn’s Henry Ford Centennial Library, Almudhegi joined protesters demanding the removal of LGBTQ-themed books from public school libraries. He told the crowd that opponents had labeled him and others “religious extremists” but said those who support the books “have to have some mental derangement … to support this kind of stuff.”

    He led the audience in chants of “Hell no!” and praised one of the protest’s organizers, declaring, “Right now, Dearborn is in the middle of a great awakening, and it’s long overdue.”

    That campaign succeeded in having six books removed and restricted students’ access to the district’s online library system.

    Although Dearborn’s crime rate has dropped, Almudhegi insists it’s out of control. His fearmongering rhetoric is similar to the right-wing culture-war politics that helped Donald Trump flip Dearborn red for the first time in two decades. In November, Trump became the first Republican to win Dearborn since George W. Bush in 2000, receiving 42.5% of the vote compared with 36% for Kamala Harris. Green Party candidate Jill Stein received 18.37% of the vote. Harris struggled in Dearborn after Mayor Abdullah Hammoud withheld his endorsement over the Biden administration’s backing of Israel’s war on Gaza.

    Almudhegi launched his campaign in February at the Fairlane Club, walking onstage to Trump-rally anthem “God Bless the USA” with GOP figures like Tudor Dixon and Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib in attendance.

    He has accused incumbent Hammoud of being “divisive” and “out of touch,” blasting the city’s Democratic leadership for focusing on inclusion initiatives. Hammoud, who is seeking a second term, has defended LGBTQ rights and pointed to falling crime rates and city investments in infrastructure.

    Progressive groups have seized on Almudhegi’s record of intolerance as evidence he is unfit to lead one of Michigan’s most diverse cities. The Progressive Michigan Political Action Fund urged voters to back Hammoud, calling him “the most progressive choice in this race.”

    Metro Times couldn’t reach Almudhegi for comment. 


    Steve Neavling

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  • Two Metro Detroit men charged in

    Two Metro Detroit men are facing federal charges and are expected to be arraigned Monday afternoon in response to what the FBI has called a “potential terrorist attack” that was allegedly targeting Halloween weekend in Michigan.

    There are a total of five people referenced or mentioned in the criminal complaint filed over the weekend in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Of the five, two are named in the criminal complaint, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud. Another unnamed person is described as a juvenile, and two others not named are described as co-conspirators.

    Five people between the ages of 16 and 20 were taken into custody on Friday, officials said. They were found at three homes, two in Dearborn, Michigan, and one in Inkster, Michigan.

    Officials say the individuals were inspired by Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard who was arrested in May for allegedly planning an ISIS-inspired attack against a U.S. Army site in Warren, Michigan. Said, 19, was accused of providing support for a planned attack on the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command facility at the Detroit Arsenal. 

    One or more members of the group of five people arrested may have known Said, law enforcement sources told CBS News.  

    Two law enforcement sources also told CBS News that the plot was not well-formed, and the FBI was monitoring an online discussion about the plot for a period of time, law enforcement said. There was no concrete plan for an attack, the sources said.

    “FBI Detroit and its Joint Terrorism Task Force are relentless in ensuring the safety of the citizens of Michigan and beyond. Defending the homeland will always be one of our top priorities, and we will utilize every available federal resource to disrupt and dismantle any individuals or groups who threaten national security,” Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said in a statement. “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for their dedicated support, and I encourage the American public to read the criminal complaint.”

    Complaint documents firearms transfers, shooting range practice

    The 73-page criminal complaint details a number of actions in Wayne County, specifically “receiving and transferring, and attempting and conspiring to transfer, firearms and ammunition knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that the firearms and ammunition would be used to commit a Federal crime of terrorism.”

    “Our newly unsealed complaint reveals a major ISIS-linked terror plot with multiple subjects arrested in the Eastern District of Michigan targeting the United States,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in her statement. “According to the complaint, subjects had multiple AR-15 rifles, tactical gear, and a detailed plan to carry out an attack on American soil. Thanks to the extraordinary diligence of our US Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr., the FBI and state and local law enforcement officers, this plot was stopped before innocent lives were lost. Our American heroes prevented a terror attack.”

    The criminal complaint details a series of shooting practices at a gun range, including at least two AR-14 style rifles, and claims that the five individuals used online encrypted communications and social media “to share extremist and ISIS-related materials that encourage attacks similar to what they planned.”

    The FBI says it had a source on multiple calls with people around Ali and Mahmoud’s social circle in which several men in and out of the U.S. spoke of a potential terror attack planned by Ali and others who did not want to leave to move to Syria as others on the call did, and instead wanted to plan an attack in the U.S. like the 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris. Those conversations went back to July 2025. 

    The FBI agent who filed the complaint said he believes that on Sept. 19 and Sept. 20, the juvenile, Ali and Mahmoud “traveled together to scout potential target locations in Ferndale, Michigan.”

    Possible target area known for being LGBTQ+ friendly

    According to the FBI, the area in which the three traveled to “includes numerous bars and restaurants, including three bars/clubs identified by the FBI based on this data. All three of these clubs are located on Woodward Avenue near East Nine Mile. Many of the clubs and bars in this area intentionally attract members of the LGBTQ+ community.

    The timing of an attack was believed to be on or around Halloween, according to the complaint. 

    The juvenile and Ali “discussed when to conduct their attack, which they appeared to set for Halloween, and they sought guidance from the father of a local Islamic extremist ideologue (the “Islamic Ideologue”) on this question,” the criminal complaint says. 

    According to the FBI, agents had physical surveillance of Ali and Mahmoud meeting at night with the juvenile at Hemlock Park on Oct. 10. The FBI also had undercover agents at a shooting range on Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, intentionally going shooting next to the alleged plotters at shooting ranges.  

    The FBI says that the juvenile told Ali that on Oct. 29, he called the father of the Islamic Ideologue, who the juvenile says told him, “If there is something good, do it right away.” Ali then says he would tell Mahmoud about the approval to put the plan in motion. Both Ali and Mahmoud shared, followed and viewed ISIS-related materials and accounts online, the FBI alleges. 

    On WhatsApp messages between the juvenile and Ali, Ali repeatedly mentioned a “pumpkin,” which the FBI alleges is Halloween, a potential attack date. For example, Ali said in one message: “I gotta do the pumpkin for real . . . if [UI] don’t do the pumpkin I’m gonna slit my wrists.” In another message, they specifically mentioned Halloween,” according to the criminal complaint. 

    On the morning of Oct. 31, federal search warrants were served at Ali’s home, Mahmoud’s home and a U-Haul storage unit in Inkster. Those three searches resulted in the confiscation of three AR-15 style rifles, two shotguns, four handguns, more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition, tactical vests, 24 empty magazines and two GoPro cameras.

    Attorney Amir Makled, who represents one of the men taken into custody on Halloween, pushed back against law enforcement allegations, saying his 20-year-old client from Dearborn, whose home was raided by the FBI, is innocent.

    “He knows he did nothing wrong, and he knows he’s not part of a terrorist plot or a cell, and there’s nothing that he ever planned or wanted to do, or impose any harm on any member of the community at any point,” said Makled in an interview with CBS News Detroit on Sunday. 

    Makled says two of the five arrested on Halloween have been released from custody.  

    Ali and Mahmoud are expected to be arraigned at 1 p.m. Monday in Detroit. 

    Reactions from local official

    Oakland County Executive David Coulter issued the following statement in response to reports that Ferndale and the LGBTQ+ communities were among the potential targets of a planned attack:

    “Learning that Ferndale and the LGBTQ+ community were among the potential targets of a terrorist attack is disturbing. The pain of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy in Orlando, Fla. nine years ago while I was serving as mayor of Ferndale is still deeply felt in the community. I’m grateful for the FBI, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement for their diligence in seeking out and preventing what could have been another mass tragedy.”

    Lucia I Suarez Sang,

    Anna Schecter and

    Veronica Ortega

    contributed to this report.

    Nick Lentz

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  • FBI arrests multiple suspects allegedly plotting potential



    FBI arrests multiple suspects allegedly plotting potential “terrorist attack” over Halloween weekend – CBS News










































    Watch CBS News



    FBI Director Kash Patel posted to social media on Friday details about arrests in Michigan linked to what he called a “potential terrorist attack” apparently plotted for Halloween weekend. Here’s the latest CBS News confirmed information.

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  • Podcast Explores Ford’s Role in Building Modern Dearborn

    A new Daily Detroit podcast explores how Dearborn changed from quiet farmland into an industrial powerhouse. Mason Christenson from the Dearborn Historical Museum tells Daily Detroit how Ford’s building projects and land planning were important in Dearborn’s transformation into a major industrial city.

    It all began in 1917 when Ford built their huge Rouge Plant. The car company’s arrival kicked off big changes across the Michigan city. New factories popped up, followed by neighborhoods, shops, and community improvements.

    When Fordson joined with Dearborn in 1929, it marked a big turning point in the city’s expansion. The early-to-mid 1900s also saw major worker protests, including the Rouge Plant strikes that won better conditions for auto workers.

    Ford bought up tons of land, changing the area completely. The Ford Airport is a good example – it ran from the 1920s to the 1940s, before making way for other projects.

    The show connects these local changes to bigger shifts across Southeast Michigan. It looks at how manufacturing changed and suburbs expanded.

    This episode fits right in with Daily Detroit’s goal to highlight local history. It shows how one company’s choices affected where people lived and worked, and how the city grew over 100 years.

    Kristina Perez

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  • Detroit News reporter blasted for ‘racist’ Tlaib cartoon

    Detroit News reporter blasted for ‘racist’ Tlaib cartoon

    A Detroit News auto industry reporter who moonlights as a political cartoonist is being criticized for appearing to imply that U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib is a member of Hezbollah, which critics have labeled as “racist,” “xenophobic,” “vile,” and “disgusting.”

    The illustration depicts Tlaib at her desk next to the charred remains of an electronic device with a thought balloon reading, “Odd, my pager just exploded.” The cartoon is a reference to a recent attack against the Lebanese organization Hezbollah that is believed to have been orchestrated by Israel, in which beepers and walkie-talkies were modified to act as remote-controlled explosives. The bombs injured thousands and killed dozens, including at least two children, and could be a violation of international law, which prohibits the use of booby traps.

    “This racism will incite more hate and violence against Arab and Muslim communities and it makes everyone less safe,” Congresswoman Tlaib tells Metro Times in a statement. “It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism against our communities.”

    The cartoon’s author is Henry Payne, who works on the Detroit News staff as an auto critic. When asked for comment, the Detroit News said the comic did not appear in its pages and noted it has not run Payne’s comics for years, though Payne signs his work using his @detroitnews.com email address. Payne’s political cartoons are nationally syndicated by Andrews McMeel Syndication.

    Payne and Andrews McMeel Syndication did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

    The Tlaib cartoon was picked up by the conservative magazine National Review, and from there it circulated on the social media platform X. Other elected officials representing the Detroit area’s Arab and Muslim communities echoed Tlaib’s disapproval of the cartoon.

    “Absolutely disgusting. Anti-Arab bigotry & Islamophobia have become normalized in our media,” Dearborn mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud wrote on X. “The National Review ran this dangerous cartoon of @RashidaTlaib. This garbage was created by Henry Payne with the @detroitnews.”

    He added, “At what point will people call this out?”

    “Shame on the @detroitnews for allowing this racist, xenophobic vile cartoon on their platform,” Michigan state Rep. Abraham Aiyash, a Hamtramck Democrat, wrote on X. “Pay attention to who condemns this. And then recognize the different standard Arab and Muslim politicians are held by.”

    “Every elected official in Michigan needs to speak out about this disgusting cartoon from @DetroitNews,” Democratic Party strategist Waleed Shahid wrote on X.

    “Terrible, @detroitnews!” state Sen. Dayna Polehanki wrote on X.

    On his website, henrypayne.com, Payne titled the comic “Cartoon: Tlaib Pager Hamas,” implying that the Congresswoman is also a member of the governing body of Gaza.

    Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S, and both have been trading escalating attacks with Israel ever since Hamas captured Israeli hostages on Oct. 7.

    As the lone Palestinian American in Congress, Tlaib has repeatedly criticized the U.S. for backing Israel’s attacks, which have reportedly killed more than 40,000 people and risk exploding into a wider regional war. Tlaib and others in Congress have urged the Biden administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire.

    Lee DeVito

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  • Uncommitted National Movement refuses to endorse Harris

    Uncommitted National Movement refuses to endorse Harris

    After a historic sit-in at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement urged Vice President Kamala Harris to respond by Sept. 15 to their request for a meeting with Palestinian American families in Michigan. These families, having lost loved ones to U.S.-supplied bombs in Gaza, hoped to discuss their demands for halting U.S. arms shipments to Israel and establishing a permanent ceasefire.

    However, the Harris campaign has remained silent, prompting the Uncommitted Movement to issue a firm statement refusing to endorse her in the upcoming 2024 election.

    The movement, which originated in Michigan, initially organized 1.5 million voter contacts and secured over 101,000 anti-war votes ahead of the February presidential primary. It has since grown into a national force, amassing 740,000 pro-peace voters and winning 30 delegates at the DNC.

    According to the group’s leaders, their efforts are not about endorsing political candidates, but advocating for life-saving policies and peace.

    “We came together, first in Michigan, and then in state after state, insisting that even through our pain and grief, we must organize to save lives, advance policies that build rather than destroy, and create a future where not another bomb from our country drops on a civilian anywhere in our world,” the statement said. “We are proud of the movement’s growth, even as our government continues sending bombs that tear apart families.”

    Polling data supports the Uncommitted Movement’s efforts, with over 80% of Democrats and 50% of Republicans in favor of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The group believes that the Biden-Harris administration’s failure to adopt this popular stance is a significant misstep.

    Although the movement has declined to endorse Harris, it has also made clear that it strongly opposes her rival Donald Trump’s re-election, describing his policies as a direct threat to Palestinians and anti-war activists.

    “Trump himself has bragged about accelerating the genocide against Palestinians and promised to intensify the suppression of pro-Palestinian activism in the U.S. We must block Donald Trump,” the group stated. “Our movement’s best hope for change lies in expanding anti-war organizing power, which would be severely undermined by a Trump administration.”

    In addition to its anti-Trump stance, the movement cautioned against voting for third-party candidates, particularly in swing states, arguing that it could unintentionally help Trump win re-election.

    “Pro-war forces like AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee] may want to drive us out of the Democratic Party, but we’re here to stay,” the group continued. “Movements have long worked to rid the Democratic Party of hateful forces… and we will work in that legacy to rid our party of AIPAC’s pro-war extremism.”

    The group’s “Not Another Bomb” campaign has mobilized over 100,000 people across 35 states, uniting progressives, civil rights advocates, and other Democratic Party members to advocate for peace. Now, the movement is inviting more groups to join them in their ongoing effort to push Democratic leadership to support a ceasefire and halt weapons transfers.

    The statement concluded: “Building on the work of ‘Uncommitted,’ we invite stakeholders in the Democratic Party coalition — progressives, civil rights, labor, racial justice, reproductive rights, climate, immigrant rights, disability justice, people of faith, young people and more — to join us in our campaign to push our Democratic Party leadership to align with the majority of Democratic voters who support the urgent call for a stop to illegal and morally reprehensible weapons transfers through our campaign, ‘Not Another Bomb’ both now and in the next administration.”

    Layla McMurtrie

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  • Lawsuit alleges Dearborn cop killed father of four by kneeling on his neck

    Lawsuit alleges Dearborn cop killed father of four by kneeling on his neck

    A federal lawsuit alleges a Dearborn cop killed a 38-year-old father of four by pinning him to the ground at a motel and kneeling on his neck as he suffocated to death in September 2021.

    Salvatore “Sal” Cipolloni was in mental distress and yelling for help at the Falcon Inn Motel when the manager called the police.

    When officers Ashley Kusnir and Matthew Wilson arrived, they found Cipolloni barricaded behind an emergency exit door, according to the lawsuit, filed last week by civil rights attorney Jon Marko on behalf of the mother of Cipolloni’s four children. Cipolloni was making grunting noises and pleading for help.

    About two minutes later, Wilson grabbed Cipolloni’s left arm and shouted, “On the ground!” Wilson grabbed the back of Cipolloni’s neck and forced him to the ground, the officers’ body-worn cameras show.

    “Mr. Cipolloni was in obvious distress and kept asking to be let up,” the lawsuit states.

    Wilson ignored Cipolloni’s cries for help, and Kusnir knelt on the man’s neck while holding his wrists, according to the lawsuit. At the same time, Wilson knelt on Cipolloni’s upper legs.

    “Mr. Cipolloni’s breathing became obviously distressed,” the lawsuit states. “His breathing was faint. Mr. Cipolloni grasped for air.”

    Two minutes after Kusnir placed her knee on Cipolloni’s neck, she checked for a pulse and claimed she found one.

    click to enlarge

    Dearborn Police Department

    Body-worn camera footage shows one of the officers kneeling on Salvatore “Sal” Cipolloni’s neck.

    Cipolloni was pronounced dead later that night, and the medical examiner determined the cause of death was not natural.

    “The officers had a front-row seat to Cipolloni’s death and did not help him while Kusnir knelt on Cipolloni’s neck for over two minutes,” Marko said Monday. “They failed to render aid to Mr. Cipolloni when they should have and could have saved his life.”

    The lawsuit names the two officers and the city of Dearborn and alleges excessive force, deliberate indifference, failure to intervene, and gross negligence.

    The incident came more than a year after a Minneapolis cop murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck.

    “This incident, as evidenced by the video footage, unfortunately shows another instance of a police officer violating an innocent individual’s civil rights,” Marko said.

    Metro Times couldn’t reach Dearborn police for comment.

    Steve Neavling

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  • Stray dogs found with chains locked around necks in Detroit area

    Stray dogs found with chains locked around necks in Detroit area

    click to enlarge

    Courtesy photo

    A dog named Gilligan was found with a heavy chain locked around his neck.

    A Detroit-area animal shelter is offering a $1,000 cash reward for information after two dogs were found with chains locked around their necks.

    Dubbed Gilligan and Skipper, the dogs were brought to Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit by Dearborn Animal Control on Sunday.

    Gilligan was found dragging two tow chains pad-locked around his neck weighing 18 pounds — more than half his body weight. Skipper was also found with a smaller chain wrapped around his neck secured with a carabiner.

    The dogs were found at the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In in Dearborn, just outside of Detroit city limits.

    The shelter found that the heavy chains were starting to become embedded in Gilligan’s skin, leading the shelter to believe that he had been locked in them for a long time.

    Gilligan received a surgery and will need to receive daily care for the immediate future to change his bandages and prevent infection. Fortunately, Skipper only experienced some hair loss from his chains.

    Both dogs are expected to make a recovery.

    click to enlarge A dog named Skipper was also found with a chain locked around his neck, though he only experienced some hair loss. - Courtesy photo

    Courtesy photo

    A dog named Skipper was also found with a chain locked around his neck, though he only experienced some hair loss.

    “Gilligan and Skipper are survivors,” said Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit President and CEO Cory Keller in a statement. “Who knows how long they were living in these conditions. Gilligan is extremely lucky he received the help when he did. This could have been a deadly outcome for him if left untreated. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering he went through carrying this heavy tow chain around his neck for weeks, if not months. This is something that does not happen overnight.”

    Keller added, “Unfortunately, we are seeing too many animals in need of urgent medical intervention these days.”

    Friends for Animals is asking the community for any information that can lead to the criminal charges, and offering a $1,000 cash reward.

    Anyone with information can call 313-943-2697, ext. 1004 and leave a message.

    Friends for Animals is also collected donations to pay for Gilligan’s surgery, which it says cost more than $1,500. More information is available at metrodetroitanimals.org/donate.

    Lee DeVito

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  • Kevin Ransom, a beloved music writer in metro Detroit, dies at 69

    Kevin Ransom, a beloved music writer in metro Detroit, dies at 69

    Kevin Ransom was a celebrated freelance journalist and music writer from Dearborn.

    Kevin Ransom, an iconic, Dearborn-based freelance journalist known for his captivating and memorable music writing, has died.

    He was 69.

    Dearborn police found Ransom dead at his Dearborn home on Saturday afternoon. His cause of death wasn’t immediately known.

    Ransom had chronic fatigue syndrome and severe sleep apnea, forcing him to retire from journalism about nine years ago.

    His friend, Matt Roush, called police to do a welfare check on Saturday after not hearing from Ransom for several days. Ransom had asked Roush to pick up medication for him at the pharmacy. After Ransom didn’t respond to Roush’s message and phone calls since Thursday, Roush called the police.

    Roush, a longtime tech journalist who is now managing editor of Lawrence Technological University’s media services for Yellow Flag Productions, befriended Ransom several years ago on Facebook after noticing that the pair had a lot in common. Roush often gave Ransom rides to the pharmacy and store, and they would sit in the car talking.

    “He was a really good storyteller,” Roush tells Metro Times. “All of those trips to the grocery store lasted longer than they had to, which was a good thing. He would tell great stories about all of the rock ’n’ rollers he interviewed, like Bonnie Raitt and the Band, which was his favorite. He talked about all the people he had interviewed. When a song came on the radio, no matter what song it was, he said he talked to that person or that band. His background was amazing. He was fun to be around.”

    In addition to music, Ransom also wrote about the auto industry, entertainment, business, the environment, and general features. His work appeared in more than two dozen publications, including Rolling Stone, The Detroit News, Ann Arbor News, Guitar Player, Automotive News, Heritage Newspapers, and Ford World.

    He had been a freelance reporter for decades.

    Although Ransom was a prolific writer on numerous subjects, he was most known for his compelling, in-depth music writing. He admired local music and helped shine a light on bands that weren’t yet nationally known. He was particularly fond of folk, roots, blues, alternative, and 1960s rock.

    “He was always a champion of local music and local musicians,” Michigan folk legend Matt Watroba tells Metro Times. “You could always count on him to write good, insightful pieces about local stuff.”

    Watroba, who has a show on WKAR, a public radio station out of Michigan State University and hosts an increasingly popular podcast No Root, No Fruit, which explores the history of folk, roots, and Americana music, says Ransom was “a true fan” of music.

    “He was a very deep music writer,” Watroba says. “He was a huge fan of music, and therefore had a deep understanding of it. He wrote eloquently about it.”

    Despite his popularity, Ransom had financial troubles. He lived in a modest bungalow in Dearborn, which was originally built by his grandparents in 1949. He bought the house in 2002 after the death of his grandmother.

    When his health began to deteriorate nearly a decade ago, he struggled to make ends meet. But because of his connection to musicians, they came out when he most needed it. In August 2015, numerous bands came together to perform a benefit concert for Ransom at The Ark in Ann Arbor. The bands included the Chenille Sisters, Peter Madcat Ruth, Matt Watroba, Rev. Robert Jones, Dave Boutette, Jo Serrapere & John Devine, and Katie Geddes.

    Ransom also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his most basic needs.

    In the years before his death, Ransom sported a big, white flowing beard.

    Because of his health problems, Ransom had gained a lot of weight but recently lost about 30 pounds by adopting a new diet and cutting out alcohol, Roush says.

    Politically, Ransom was progressive and opinionated and could be prickly about conservatives.

    “His favorite word for them was ‘imbeciles,’” Roush says. “He was very progressive.”

    Ransom received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Michigan University.

    “Kevin Ransom is an extraordinarily gifted journalist — reliable, insightful, on time, an expert interviewer, and highly personable,” Jas Obrecht, a nationally known music journalist, wrote on LinkedIn. “I’ve given him many assignments for national publication, and he has excelled in all of them. He’s also great at newspaper work.”

    Steve Neavling

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  • Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza visits Michigan to speak at U-M and meet with Rashida Tlaib

    Palestinian journalist Motaz Azaiza visits Michigan to speak at U-M and meet with Rashida Tlaib

    Throughout the last six months, Palestinian citizens have taken on the vital role of journalism, capturing horrors in Gaza through videos and photographs shared across social media platforms. Among many, some of the most prominent faces have been Bisan Owda, Plestia Alaqad, and Motaz Azaiza, gaining millions of followers worldwide who not only seek updates on the conflict but also check in daily hoping for confirmation of the journalists’ continued safety.

    In late January, Azaiza announced to his 18.3 million Instagram followers that he would be leaving the Gaza Strip. Since then, he has traveled the world to spread awareness about what’s happening even further.

    On Monday, the 24-year-old Palestinian photojournalist visited Michigan, speaking to nearly 2,000 University of Michigan students, faculty, and community members at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater about his life before the war, his photojournalism work during it, and his hopelessness since leaving.

    The following day, he met with Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in Dearborn.

    “We talked a lot about our struggles as Palestinians and her work in the congress,” an Instagram post from @motaz_azaiza says. “We are making changes.”

    click to enlarge

    Tlaib presented Azaiza with a plaque of recognition for his journalism work in Gaza.

    At the meeting, Tlaib presented Azaiza with a plaque of recognition for his contributions to the field of journalism through “ongoing coverage of the Palestinian people and his commitment to telling their stories.”

    “Mr. Azaiza has focused his life’s work on capturing the family life of Palestinians in Gaza. Since the war began, he has bravely used his platform to document the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the lives of innocent people who have been killed,” the Congressional Record states. “Mr. Azaiza’s images on the ground have exposed the war crimes being committed by the Israeli government for the world to see. We applaud his efforts and bravery for risking his life to report on these atrocities.”

    The day after, another of Azaiza’s Instagram posts expressed his struggle to persist through ongoing pain while traveling from place to place to talk about Gaza, as innocent lives continue to be lost.

    “I can’t continue doing what I’m doing, traveling from [one] place to another to raise more awareness while every moment my heart goes down when I see a picture [of] a friend of mine injured or dead,” he states. “I am dead from inside and will not be able to continue.”

    In another recent post, he expressed that he hasn’t felt comfortable since he left the Gaza Strip. Tlaib echoed the sentiment in an Instagram post of her own following the meeting.

    “[Azaiza] may be physically away, but his mind, soul, and heart are still in Gaza,” she says. “The trauma and pain are evident in how he speaks about what he lived through and witnessed. He wants to save lives. He wants to help as many Palestinians as he can (me too). The overwhelming guilt weighing on him is felt instantly. Many of you reading this feel it too. How do we stop a genocide?”

    She continues on to say that their “existence is resistance,” and that shining light on what is happening will demonstrate the inhumanity further and help create change.

    “One day, our beloved Palestine will be free. One day, Motaz will see that Allah had a plan for him when he picked up that camera. One day, a world will be created where Palestinians are allowed to live,” the post continues. “We will never stop talking about Palestine. We will never forget the genocide in Gaza.”

    Detroiters rally in support of Palestine [PHOTOS]

    Layla McMurtrie

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  • Lapointe: Could Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote tip the election to Trump?

    Lapointe: Could Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote tip the election to Trump?

    click to enlarge

    Jim West/Alamy Live News

    Two days ahead of Michigan’s Presidential primary election, a rally in Hamtramck urges voters to choose “uncommitted” instead of Joe Biden.

    In the United States, the Democratic President runs for re-election even though it is clear to both his friends and to his foes that he is not as sharp as he once was.

    In Eastern Europe, the wily dictator in Moscow goes on the muscle. Among other targets, Poland ranks high on his list. And in the Middle East, the very existence of Israel is being debated.

    “Arabs would choose to die rather than yield their land to the Jews,” the Saudi king warns the American President.

    You’ve probably guessed by now that we’re not talking here about 2024; or about President Joe Biden of the United States; or about President Vladimir Putin of Russia; or about Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

    Instead, it is a flashback to 1944 — 80 years ago — from the book His Final Battle: The Last Months of Franklin Roosevelt, by the late Joseph Lelyveld. (Full disclosure: I enjoyed working for Lelyveld at The New York Times).

    Published in 2016, His Final Battle chronicles the 1944 campaign, the end of World War II, and Roosevelt’s death in 1945, at the start of his fourth term, as the Cold War began. In some ways, this timely book reminds us that history doesn’t always repeat itself but sometimes it echoes and rhymes.

    Although every analogy wears thin when extended, one thematic through line of current events seems distressingly similar to circumstances of eight decades ago: the world of global power politics is shifting again and the American electorate will have a significant voice in how it changes.

    Which brings us to Dearborn, to Arab Americans, to Muslim Americans, to young antiwar voters, and to the possibility that this segment of the Michigan electorate in November could steer the state and choose the fate of the nation and the world.

    And that could bring the return of former President Donald Trump, a large, loud, orange-faced, yellow-haired demagogue who is now older, meaner, and more reckless than three years ago when he tried to cling to power by sending lynch-mob rioters to the Capitol to murder Trump’s own vice-president.

    Crunch the vote numbers. Trump won Michigan by 10,000 votes over Hillary Clinton in 2016 but lost to Biden by 154,000 in 2020. Both times, Michigan backed the winner. But last week, more than 100,000 voted “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic primary as a protest against American support for Israel.

    Should those numbers increase — and should the war and the boycott of Biden carry into November — the absence of these Democratic voters could tip the tilt toward Trump in Michigan, one of a handful of “battleground states” expected to decide the Electoral College.

    If so, as we did eight years ago, we will again toss our car keys to the loudest, biggest, crudest drunk in the bar and we will once more say to him, “Here you go, Butch! You get us home.”

    And what might that ride be like?

    In his first term, Trump harassed Muslim Americans and Arab Americans at airports with his “Muslim ban.” He tormented brown-skinned immigrants at the southern border by splintering Latin American families apart when they entered from Mexico.

    Trump now vows more vicious crackdowns with internment camps and deportations. He and his followers dehumanize immigrants as “illegals” and blame them for crime.

    “Our country is being poisoned, it’s really being poisoned,” Trump told personal fluffer Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel. “I call it migrant crime.” At Eagle Pass, Texas, last week, Trump spoke of a “Biden migrant crime wave.”

    It matters little to Trump or to his Make America Great Again supporters that serious crime is down and that immigrants generally break the law less than American citizens. Ignore that. What matters most is that scary image of a Venezuelan man arrested for murdering a Georgia student while she jogged.

    His dark face is in heavy rotation on Fox. You must understand, America, that, in the MAGAt view, this mug shot represents all immigrants and they must be feared because they bring drugs, sex slavery, and welfare abusers to our nation. Yeah. Because Trump says so. OK, pal?

    Plus, they will take our jobs and vote Democratic. So, be afraid, America! Build that wall! In two recent trips to Detroit’s blue-collar suburbs, Trump has used blood metaphors to suggest that immigrants contaminate American genes and that foreign nations export lunatics and mental patients.

    In Clinton Township last fall, Trump said immigrants are “destroying the lifeblood of our country.” Would he dare say such a thing in Dearborn? Fat chance. A proud and convicted sexual predator who was recently found guilty of (and fined for) financial fraud, Trump has called his opponents “vermin.”

    That kind of talk went out of style around the time of Roosevelt’s death, but Trump revives it now for an appreciative audience. Will voters in and around communities like Dearborn and Hamtramck (and around the college campuses) evaluate their binary choice this autumn in a realistic calculation?

    Who’s best for them: Biden or Trump? Would Biden ever call them “vermin?”

    In the meantime, another of Trump’s TV family — Brother Tucker Carlson — goes to Moscow to kiss the rear end of Putin, Trump’s political pal. Carlson also praises the goodies at a Russian grocery store and marvels at the cleanliness and beauty of the city.

    All this just before Putin’s main opponent dies under mysterious circumstances in a prison in Siberia. Since being fired by Fox and striking out on his own, it is as if Carlson cannot decide whether he wants to be Charles Lindbergh or Tokyo Rose.

    Those who have studied the Roosevelt era and World War II will recall that Lindbergh — the star-crossed aviator — took up the “America First” cause and national isolationism before Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 and Japan attacked the U.S. Navy in 1941.

    Lindbergh got too close to Nazi Germany and his political career crash-landed. Trump and others of his Republican party are using the same scare tactics, urging protectionism and isolationism mixed with racism disguised as nativism. Among many right-wing media contenders, Carlson is the best at this.

    Tokyo Rose was the collective nickname for the female radio propagandists (more than one) who broadcast from Japan to American soldiers and sailors during the war in the Pacific, subtly whispering subversion into their ears along with songs from home that the men may have missed.

    Even all those years ago, sinister people figured out how to use the medium of broadcasting to manipulate minds and undermine truth. Today’s fools like Hannity and Carlson are simply the current generation of user-friendly tools who twist the truth in traitorous ways.

    And from his glass coffin in Moscow’s Red Square, the long-embalmed Lenin is laughing loudly (with a Russian accent?) at two, new useful idiots.

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    Metro Detroiters join global day of action calling for ceasefire in Gaza

    Joe Lapointe

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  • Listen to Michigan campaign rebukes Biden with strong ‘uncommitted’ Democratic primary results

    Listen to Michigan campaign rebukes Biden with strong ‘uncommitted’ Democratic primary results

    As expected, President Joe Biden handily won Michigan’s Democratic primary election on Tuesday. But all eyes were on the Great Lakes State to see if a grassroots campaign urging people to vote “uncommitted” in protest of his handling of the war in Gaza could gain traction here, with Michigan becoming more influential in the national race after moving its primary election to earlier in the year.

    Launched by leaders from metro Detroit’s large Arab American community who call for a ceasefire in Gaza, the “Listen to Michigan” campaign bet that Democrats opposed to the war would turn out for the protest vote, but it wasn’t initially clear what benchmark would be considered a success. (There are some 200,000 Arab American voters in Michigan, while Biden beat Trump by about 150,000 votes in the 2020 general election.) Publicly, the campaign set a goal of 10,000 “uncommitted” votes, but that was an inadequate gauge; there were about 20,000 uncommitted voters in each of Michigan’s past three primary elections. So to make a statement, tens of thousands of Michiganders would have to vote “uncommitted” this time.

    The campaign declared victory Tuesday evening, with more than 38,000 votes for “uncommitted” shortly before 11 p.m. and 29% of votes in — enough for the campaign to send at least one delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

    “Our movement emerged victorious tonight and massively surpassed our expectations,” the campaign said in a statement. “Tens of thousands of Michigan Democrats, many of whom voted for Biden in 2020, are uncommitted to his re-election due to the war in Gaza.”

    Critics warned if these voters don’t support Biden in November that the Listen to Michigan campaign could help Trump, whose authoritarian bent would be worse for Gaza, Arab Americans, and democracy.

    But in a video statement, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, one of the most prominent supporters of Listen to Michigan, said the campaign was about participating in democracy to make its supporters’ voices heard.

    “We must protect our democracy, we must make sure that our government is about us, about the people,” she said, adding, “This is the way we can use our democracy to say, ‘Listen. Listen to Michigan.’”

    Tlaib said that she was proud to bring her 18-year-old son to vote for the first time ever on Tuesday. Her sister Layla Elabed is a campaign manager for Listen to Michigan.

    A similar group, the “Abandon Biden” campaign, declared victory well before polls even closed on Tuesday, saying that it had campaigners posted in Dearborn, the center of metro Detroit’s Arab American community, and “not a single person has said that they will vote for Biden,” the campaign’s Hassan Abdel Salam told Metro Times via email.

    “Whereas Biden won by 90% in 2020, there will be virtually no support this year for Biden,” he said. “It is not an understatement to say that this is an earthquake.”

    click to enlarge

    Viola Klocko

    A multicultural coalition in metro Detroit has rallied in opposition to the war in Gaza.

    Filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, who endorsed the Listen to Michigan campaign and famously predicted Trump would win in 2016, also anticipated a big turnout.

    “This is a movement that’s only about two weeks old and it has caught on fire, let me tell you, my friends,” he said on his podcast Rumble with Michael Moore. “I’m just telling you this as a Michigander, there are people by the thousands who are going to vote.”

    On Tuesday, Politico reported that Biden’s campaign was privately “freaking out about the uncommitted vote” in Michigan. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, Governor Whitmer — a loyal Biden ally who has repeated the talking point claiming that anything other than a vote for Biden in the primary will help Trump in November — expressed empathy for the uncommitted voters while speaking on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday.

    “Today, I anticipate that we will see a sizable number of people vote uncommitted,” she said, adding, “There’s a lot of people who are hurting.”

    When asked how Biden can win these voters back in November, Whitmer said, “It’s going to be important that the administration continue to engage with leaders and individuals in the Palestinian community, the Muslim community, the Arab American community, as well as the Jewish community.”

    Andy Levin, a Jewish former congressman who also supported the Listen to Michigan campaign, said that Biden must heed the warning and push harder for a ceasefire.

    “Joe Biden can get the vast majority of these people to vote for him if he changes course,” Levin said, according to The New York Times. “If he doesn’t change course, there’s nothing I can do to get folks to vote for him.”

    Israel’s bombing in Gaza has killed more than 30,000 people, with many more at risk of starvation and illness.

    This article was updated with more recent results from the primary election.

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    Lee DeVito

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  • Metro Times endorses ‘uncommitted’ in 2024 presidential primary

    Metro Times endorses ‘uncommitted’ in 2024 presidential primary

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    Viola Klocko

    Protesters call for an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza at a Detroit-area rally.

    All too often, generation after generation of disaffected voters in the U.S. feel forced to make a choice between the “lesser of two evils” in the November general election, unimpressed by the candidates that the establishment produces.

    That’s likely to be the case among many in the unlikely coalition that united to send Joe Biden to the White House in 2020 — including progressives, liberals, centrists, moderate Republicans, and independents — considering the President’s low approval rating, which hovers around 39%. That’s not that far off from his predecessor Donald Trump’s ratings, which averaged 41% while in office.

    But Michigan’s Tuesday, Feb. 27 primary election isn’t about choosing between the lesser of two evils — it’s about choosing the candidate for the November election. That’s why Metro Times is endorsing “uncommitted” for the Democratic primary election.

    The “Listen to Michigan” campaign is urging voters who disapprove of the Biden administration’s backing of Israel’s war in Gaza to select “uncommitted” on the ballot. Launched by local Democratic party leaders, including a number of members of Dearborn’s Arab American community who helped elect Biden in 2020, the campaign aims to use the primary to call for a ceasefire and end funding of the attacks on Gaza, which have killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, injured nearly 70,000, and displacing nearly 2 million, including many women and children.

    “Our numerous attempts to engage in meaningful dialogue with President Biden have been disregarded, showing a clear indifference to our concerns and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” Listen to Michigan’s Layla Elabed said in a statement. “By voting uncommitted, Democrats can send a powerful message that we cannot back policies that perpetuate violence and injustice. President Biden needs to realign his policies with the values of peace and humanity to earn our votes.”

    A December poll by Data for Progress and We the People — Michigan found a majority of metro Detroit voters, or 53%, supported a ceasefire in Gaza, including 80% of Democrats, 66% of independents, and 49% of Republicans.

    So far, Biden has merely paid lip service to the plight of the Palestinians. “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top,” Biden told reporters at the White House during a recent press conference. What a euphemism. The United Nations International Court of Justice is currently investigating credible claims that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people under the cover of retaliation to the Oct. 7 attack from Hamas.

    We condemn that brutal attack, which resulted in more than 1,000 deaths in Israel and about 250 hostages being taken into Gaza, as we condemn all violence. This is why we demand that Biden join us in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has argued that it must eliminate Hamas as a matter of self-defense, no matter the cost. We believe violence will only beget more violence, and that diplomacy and negotiations are not being prioritized.

    As U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib — the only Palestinian American in Congress — has pointed out, the conflict did not start on Oct. 7. For nearly two decades, Gaza has been under a crushing Israeli blockade resulting in high levels of poverty, malnutrition, and humiliating security checkpoints. Israel’s military campaign does nothing to address any of the issues driving people to join the ranks of Hamas.

    Biden occasionally speaking up for Palestine while continuing to send money and weapons to Israel is especially offensive considering the way he charmed many Arab Americans by using the phrase “inshallah,” or “god willing,” during a 2020 debate in response to Trump’s promise to release his tax returns. Many said they felt seen by the witty comment, with some calling it a “historic moment in America” given the prejudice people of Middle Eastern cultures have faced, especially after the 9/11 attacks.

    But now, Arab Americans are justified in feeling once again unseen by the U.S. government.

    Biden cannot afford to lose their votes in Michigan, which is once again shaping up to be a swing state in 2024. In 2020, he won by more than 150,000 votes here, home to some 300,000 people of Middle Eastern ancestry. That doesn’t even cover the many more people who disapprove of the war in Gaza, especially young people.

    The stakes are especially high because there is no doubt in our minds that Trump would be far worse for global stability, vowing to ban refugees from Gaza from entering the U.S. and suggesting that the war must be allowed to “play out.” Biden needs to change course on Gaza or else he runs the risk of losing to Trump.

    Other candidates have called for peace, including third-party candidate Cornel West and the best-selling author and former Macomb County megachurch leader Marianne Williamson, who ended her campaign earlier this month. If you already voted by absent voter ballot and want to change your vote to “uncommitted,” you must contact your local clerk’s office to spoil your ballot by 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16. (You can find your local clerk at michigan.gov/vote.)

    Once voters send a message to Biden by choosing “uncommitted” in Michigan’s primary election, Biden must then do everything in his power to stop further devastation in Gaza and help mediate what must become a lasting peace in the Middle East.

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    Metro Times editorial staff

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  • Michigan officials to vote ‘uncommitted’ in Democratic primary due to Biden’s handling of Gaza

    Michigan officials to vote ‘uncommitted’ in Democratic primary due to Biden’s handling of Gaza


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    Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud.

    More than 30 southeast Michigan officials including Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud have pledged to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential primary election on Feb. 27.

    The officials signed a letter on Feb. 6 following the campaign announcement by Listen to Michigan urging Michiganders to “Vote Uncommitted” in order to send a message to President Joe Biden on his handling of the war in Gaza.

    “We must hold our president accountable and ensure that we, the American taxpayers, are no longer forced to be accomplices in a genocide that is backed and funded by the United States government,” Listen to Michigan said in a statement.

    The action is a result of Biden and his administration failing to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire more than four months after Israel launched its military campaign in response to the Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The conflict has resulted in the loss of more than 30,000 lives and the displacement of over 2 million people in Gaza.

    “Our government has failed to act in the best interests of the lives of innocent men, women, and children, and worse yet, have suggested that there is an exception to the rule when it comes to Palestinian lives,” Mayor Hammoud stated. “This matter has a direct impact on our Dearborn community, and more importantly, on each of us as human beings. We intend to make our voices heard in the presidential primary.”

    Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal published a racist, Islamaphobic, and misinformed opinion piece calling Dearborn “America’s jihad capital.” Local officials say that the best way to support the people of Dearborn is to support a ceasefire.

    This week, President Biden’s senior officials plan to meet with Arab and Muslim American communities in Michigan to discuss policy surrounding the conflict, reported The Detroit News. This was supposed to happen weeks ago, but many leaders, including Mayor Hammoud, refused to attend out of protest.

    Many Muslim activists in metro Detroit have been pledging to “Abandon Biden” for months, but Listen to Michigan hopes the campaign pushes the president to shift policy. The coalition believes that Biden is not listening to what his voters want, and must earn the vote of Democrats through a dramatic change. And, according to recent surveys, most Detroit-area voters support a permanent ceasefire.

    In the Michigan Democratic primary, there are five options: Joe Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, “Uncommitted,” and a blank line for write-ins. The Listen to Michigan campaign is urging voters to select “Uncommitted” in the election.

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    Layla McMurtrie

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