Vandalism of Warren mosque triggers call for hate crime investigation
WARREN, Mich. The vandalism of a mosque in Warren is prompting calls for a hate crime investigation. Several windows were smashed at the Al Ihsaan Islamic Center in Warren. Local Muslim leaders fear it could be part of a continuing pattern of intimidation. Read more: Metro Detroit crime news
Supreme Court rules LGBT workers are protected under Civil Rights Act
DETROIT The United States Supreme Court ruled Monday that LGBT workers are protected from job discrimination and being fired for sexual orientation under the Civil Rights Act. The victory is bittersweet for the ACLU, as Aimee Stephens, the transgender woman at the center of the ruling, died last month. She sued, saying the Civil Rights Act prevents employment discrimination based on sex. Seven years later, the Supreme Court agreed, in a 6-3 decision. John Borsch, the attorney who represented the funeral home before the Supreme Court last year, disagrees.
Michigan woman gets probation for striking black man, hurling slurs
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A white woman who used racial slurs as she attacked a black car salesman at a western Michigan dealership has avoided jail, despite a tearful appeal from the victim for her to be given behind bars. Judge Paul Sullivan on Tuesday sentenced Shelly Hueckel of Nashville, Michigan, to two years of probation. Hueckel was convicted in December of misdemeanor assault but cleared of ethnic intimidation, a felony. “It was ethnic intimidation. I’m going to say it again: ethnic intimidation,” Smith told the judge Tuesday.