(The Center Square) — A Michigan prosecutor downplayed the alleged crimes of a Detroit man accused of heaving a large rock at a police officer and anti-Islamic activist Jake Lang and, ultimately, declined to prosecute the man, according to police records obtained by The Center Square.
The incident in early August came amid Lang's appearance at a religious procession through the streets of Dearborn for a Muslim holiday. Lang has repeatedly visited Dearborn — which is the only Arab American-majority city in the United States — to decry Islam.
The city's racial and religious makeups have led to numerous culture clashes over more than a decade, along with lawsuits and accusations that it is biased against Christians.
"It's Sharia law," Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell told The Center Square. "Jake Lang, he was stoned for saying that Dearborn belongs to Jesus. So Sharia law says what? You're supposed to be stoned for that. That's what Sharia law says. And guess what happened? He ran for his life."
Lang and other detractors of Islam invoke the phrase "Sharia law" to indicate areas of the country are governed by strict Muslim rules and are intolerant of other religions.
On Aug. 2, Lang spoke through a loudspeaker for less than a minute before he and his videographer companion were attacked and chased by more than a dozen men, including a convicted murderer, police and court records show.
A 45-second protest
Lang had already been to Dearborn twice in attempts to publicly burn a Quran — the Muslim Holy book — when he went to protest the annual Arbaeen Peace Procession, a 1-mile walk that started at the Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center, which organizes the event.
At about 3 p.m. he was telling the participants that "you are not welcome here" and "Jesus Christ is King of Dearborn Michigan" when he and a videographer — Jacob Gingrich — were mobbed by up to 20 people, police records show.
Abbas Mania Abdoush, of Detroit, led the attack when he walked toward Lang and punched him in the face, police officers wrote in a report. Lang and his friend attempted to flee as they were punched, kicked and pelted with rocks by the group.
A police officer estimated Lang had spoken for about 45 seconds before the attack began. Lang often publicizes his protests before they happen.
"Gingrich and Lang both turned to run away from the men, but both were attacked/assaulted," according to a police report.
Lang was punched and hit with stones in his head, neck, back and leg. Gingrich was struck repeatedly by a flagpole and punched by a group of men dressed in all black. Someone stole his camera and microphone. A video recording from a police drone appeared to show Gingrich briefly unconscious on the ground with his arms and legs tucked close to his body after the attack, a police report said.
A police officer struggled to rescue Lang by placing him in her patrol vehicle. Despite Sgt. Ashley Kusnir's intervention, the group continued to attack Lang. Someone with a small child attempted to block the path.
Another man stepped into Lang's way and struck him repeatedly in the head, "even as Lang was being secured in the patrol car for safekeeping," a police report said.
Abbas Mania Abdoush, who police identified as the initial aggressor because he threw the first punch, struck the police vehicle with his fist after Lang was inside.
A police report alleges Abdoush then threw a large gardening rock at the side of the vehicle "with as much force as possible, attempting to break the glass."
Insufficient evidence
Abdoush was arrested shortly thereafter by nearby police officers. The department suggested to county prosecutors that he should be charged with a hate crime and for felony assault with a dangerous weapon.
He had been convicted more than two decades of ago of second-degree murder, for striking a woman with a vehicle, according to state appeals court records.Â
But days later, Kurt Koning, an assistant prosecuting attorney for Wayne County, responded that there wasn't enough evidence to show Abdoush attacked Lang "based in whole or in part on his actual or perceived association or affiliation with religion."
Further, Koning wrote there wasn't evidence to show "Abdoush placed (Lang and the officer) in reasonable fear of an immediate battery with a dangerous weapon."
Instead, he suggested Dearborn city attorneys prosecute lesser misdemeanor crimes.
"In the best interests of justice, this matter should be handled locally in Dearborn," Koning wrote to the police department.
Koning did not respond to a request to comment for this article. A spokesperson for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Maria Miller, reiterated there was "insufficient evidence to issue criminal charges" but declined to elaborate further for The Center Square.
The misdemeanor charges Dearborn did file against Abdoush have been dismissed, court records show. Abdoush, who was born in Iraq, is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Michigan for potential deportation, federal records show.
Few identified
Dearborn police used facial recognition software to find other potential suspects in the attack, but Gingrich struggled to confirm their identity in photos he was shown. Lang didn't go to the police department to look at the photo lineup despite returning to the city two weeks later for another protest.
The department identified three other suspects. Two of them were charged with a crime. Haider Hassan Al-Huchaimy and Keyaan A. Alzayadi are accused of misdemeanor assault and battery, according to court records. Their cases are pending.
The too few arrests are proof of bias in Dearborn, said Pastor Sewell, who is a prominent Black supporter of President Donald Trump.
"Dearborn police know how to act on American laws when they want to," Sewell told The Center Square. "And they know how to enact Sharia law when they want to."
The Dearborn police chief, mayor and attorney's office did not respond to requests to comment for this article.
Lang and Sewell cited what they perceived as a lack of police protection and robust prosecution to launch a larger protest on Aug. 18 that drew hundreds of people. That led to sometimes violent clashes involving guns, pepper spray and knives, police reports show.
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