DEARBORN, Mich. – Several people were arrested outside the Henry Ford Centennial Library as protesters gathered ahead of a Dearborn City Council meeting.
A large crowd began forming late Tuesday (Aug. 18) afternoon.
As the meeting approached, riot police and riot police moved to break up the crowd as people rushed to enter the library.
Police limited the number of people allowed inside, while a group of protesters remained outside throughout the meeting.
The demonstration followed social media posts promoting what organizers called a “Christian Crusader March on Dearborn.”
Conservative activist Jake Lang and Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell were two of the organizers.
Lang previously posted that the group would “not surrender to Islam” and called for an end to the “Islamification of America.”
Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin had urged residents to avoid the area unless they had business before the council.
He said police were coordinating with local, state and federal agencies to protect demonstrators and counterdemonstrators and allow them to exercise their First Amendment rights safely.
Inside the meeting, organizers and Dearborn residents exchanged public comments about the city and the protests.
Lang and Sewell both spoke.
Lang attempted to bring a Quran to the podium but was told he could not do so.
“There’s no books or props allowed,” said a councilmember to Lang, who walked to the podium to speak during the meeting.
“It’s over, It’s over. We will have our way. Come blood or sweat. We will have our way,” said Lang.
After speaking, Lang began tearing the Quran and was escorted from the meeting by police.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud also gave a speech addressing the protests and pushing back on the narratives of protest organizers.
“I want to speak to every resident of Dearborn who has felt that fear. I want to boldly say that you belong here. You belong here as much as anyone else, and the generations of the people who built this city proved it. Dearborn was built by people with different names, different accents, different traditions, and different ways of worshiping God,” said Hammoud.
City Council President Mike Sareini defended Dearborn’s response after Lang was assaulted earlier this month while protesting in the city.
Sewell claimed police failed to respond, but Shahin disputed that account, saying officers arrived within 30 seconds and made several arrests.