Armed Protesters To Rally Against 'Evils Of Radical Islam' Saturday In Dearborn
DEARBORN (CBS Detroit) - A flyer for the event proclaims: "The world is saying no to Islam."
A group of open carry gun advocates and others are planning an anti-Islam rally in Dearborn this weekend, hoping to bring attention to what they call "the evils of radical Islam."
Dearborn police, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security officers are expected to be on hand for what's been billed as a "Global Rally for Humanity" initially scheduled for Saturday afternoon outside the Islamic Center of America — North America's largest mosque — on Ford Road.
"We are invoking our 1st Amendment right about our feeling of Islam in America," reads one Facebook page promoting the rally.
On another, organizers say: "As this invasion of Muslim colonization continues unchecked on American soil, we can only expect the same suffering now endured by EUROPE...Now is the time to act."
WWJ's Charlie Langton reported there's some worry in the community that this will not be a peaceful demonstration.
"The Anti-Defamation League calls these two groups — Oath Keepers and The Three Percenters — extremists and anti-government, and potentially dangerous as they suggest that people bring their guns to the rally," Langton said.
Also expressing unease about the event is the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) which put out an alert urging Muslim community leaders to institute additional safety measures in response to "hate rallies" planned by possibly armed anti-Muslim extremists "with history of violent rhetoric."
"Organizers of the hate rallies have indicated that participants in states with open carry laws may be armed and that provocations such as the use of live pigs and Quran desecrations may occur," the alert states.
"The anti-Islam rallies come at a time of increased hate-motivated crimes and bias incidents nationwide targeting persons and property associated, or perceived to be associated, with Islam and the American Muslim community.
"Many of these planned rallies may not take place, or they may consist of only a handful of people shouting slurs at worshipers. But given the recent endorsement of Islamophobia by national public figures, it would only be prudent for mosque and community leaders to prepare for any eventuality."
Similar protests are planned for the same time outside mosques nationwide including Atlanta, Georgia; Huntsville, Alabama; and Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Reached for comment, an event organizer — who declined an interview and did not want to give his name — confirmed in a message to CBS Detroit that attendees planned to come armed.
"This rally is aimed toward radical Islam and Louis Farrakhan. We plan on exercising our 2nd Amendment rights (right to bear arms)," he said.
"The location of the rally has changed due to permit. Dearborn Police Department knows where the new location is; I don't know how many people are going to show up. I've had a lot of people confirm they are going to show up, but talk is cheap, so we'll see on the day of the rally how many people show up."
Police confirmed the approved alternative site for the rally is along Michigan Ave. in front of Dearborn City Hall.