Michigan Muslim community leader removed from Harris rally wants answers
(CBS DETROIT) — A man who was removed from a Vice President Kamala Harris rally in Metro Detroit on Monday said he was not offered an explanation.
Dr. Ahmed Ghanim attended the invitation-only event in Royal Oak on Monday, excited to hear from Harris and former Sen. Liz Cheney. Ghanim said he went through the security checkpoints, sat down in his seat, and was answering emails while he waited for them to begin. Ten minutes later, he said staffers for the Harris campaign came to his seat and asked him to step to the back.
Ghanim said he was asked to leave the venue and told by authorities that if he didn't leave, he would be arrested.
"The transition was so sharp. I was sitting there waiting to listen to the vice president then being threatened with arrest," he said. "I told him I would leave, but I just need to know why they are removing me. He said it is not us, it is the venue."
Ghanim said a campaign staffer eventually contacted him to say they regretted what happened. However, he said the staffer did not offer an explanation.
The Harris campaign sent a statement to CBS News Detroit:
"The campaign was swiftly informed by Emgage Action of yesterday's incident and looked into it. Our campaign regrets this action and its impact on Dr. Ghanim and the community, and he is welcome at future events. We value our relationship with the Muslim American community and are committed to ensuring all community and political spaces are welcoming and respectful to every American."
"When you are in a rally for a candidate, and you are kicked out of the rally, would you vote for this candidate?" said Ghanim. "That is the question."
"I think Democrats need to get their house in order and start meaningfully engaging and listening to us," said the executive director of the American Muslim Engagement and Empowerment Network (AMEEN).
Nazarko said this incident is part of a larger issue that is leading his community away from a party they've invested nearly two with – leaving the Arab and Muslim communities questioning how they'll vote in the upcoming presidential election.
"I would say they have definitely started shifting sentiments," Nazarko told CBS News Detroit.
Nazarko added that the consensus isn't that the community believes former President Donald Trump would be better for them but that Vice President Harris has already proven she isn't.
"You can't whitewash genocide," Nazarko said, referencing the ongoing war in Gaza.
In battleground Michigan, which has hundreds of thousands of registered Arab American and Muslim voters, this singular community could potentially push the pendulum either way.
"I do hope for the sake of America that she can start re-engaging us and speak to Michigan," said Nazarko. "And start speaking to Michigan and Arabs and Muslims in Michigan."