Dearborn Moves Council Meeting, Urges Residents to Stay Home Ahead of 'Christian Crusader March'

Dearborn is moving its Aug. 18 city council meeting out of its usual chambers and asking residents who don't have official business with the city to stay away, as police prepare for a demonstration billed online as a "Christian Crusader March on Dearborn."

Council President Mike Sareini announced Thursday on Facebook that the meeting will shift from the Council Chambers at the Dearborn Administrative Center to the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Michigan Avenue, citing expectations of a much larger crowd than normal. Sareini said residents with actual business before the council are still welcome and will be safe. Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin followed with a more direct message to the public.

"If you want to attend the meeting and exercise your First Amendment right, we encourage you to attend, and I can assure you you'll be safe," Shahin said in a video posted to the department's Facebook page. "If your goal is to engage with demonstrators, I ask you to stay home."

The march is organized by conservative activist Jake Lang and Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell. Lang posted a flyer to social media declaring "We will not surrender to Islam," with organizers saying their goal is to "stop Islamification of America." Dearborn has one of the largest Middle Eastern communities in the country, and residents have voiced concern in the days since the announcement began circulating.

Shahin has told people directly not to confront the demonstrators when they arrive. "If your goal is to come here and confront anybody that wants to come to our town and portray us in a negative light, just don't do it because you're going to play into that narrative," he said. City Council President Pro Tem Kamal Alsawafy delivered a similar message to residents earlier this week. "Everyone has their First Amendment rights, and I respect that, but my message to our resident is simple: don't take the bait, stay peaceful, go about your lives, and let law enforcement do its job," Alsawafy said.

Sewell says the planned march grew out of an incident earlier this month in which Lang was assaulted while protesting in Dearborn. Video of the confrontation was posted to Instagram. Sewell has accused Dearborn police of failing to respond quickly enough. "The police can enact justice when they want to, but when Jake Lang is running for his life, the police do absolutely nothing," Sewell said.

Shahin disputes that account, saying officers reached the scene almost immediately and made arrests. "Within 30 seconds of his arrival, police officers were there making sure everybody was safe," he said.

Sewell has claimed as many as 50,000 people could turn out for the march, a figure police have not confirmed or disputed publicly. The Dearborn Police Department says it is coordinating with local, state and federal partners on a security plan for the day. "We have an operations plan in place to be able to deal with demonstrators and counter-demonstrators that plan to show up, so that everyone can exercise their First Amendment and do it freely, but also do it safely," Shahin said.

Attempts by reporters to reach Lang directly through social media for comment on the department's account of the earlier assault have gone unanswered.

City officials have not said whether other public meetings or events will be moved or altered as the march date approaches, and police have not released specific details of their operations plan. The city council meeting will take place as scheduled on Aug. 18 at the Henry Ford Centennial Library on Michigan Avenue.