DEARBORN, MI — Hundreds clashed Tuesday evening ahead of a Dearborn city council meeting amid a pro-Christian protest.
Police in riot gear were seen pushing large crowds from the Henry Ford Centennial Library as the meeting approached.
The demonstration came as conservative activist Jake Lang and Detroit Pastor Lorenzo lead what they called a "Christian Crusader March on Dearborn City Council Meeting."
Lang has called for an end to the "Islamification of America."
Other extremist groups, including Nazi sympathizers, Christian Nationalists and other anti-Islam agitators were seen clashing with pro-Muslim supporters ahead of the council meeting.
Counter-protesters were seen marching along Michigan Avenue, chanting "God is the greatest" in Arabic.
Multiple people were arrested, but it was unclear how many. Police said they would provide more information soon.
Police and city leaders asked people who did not intend to participate in the council to not show up and demonstrate for or against Lang.
Lang did speak at the meeting. He tried to bring a Quran to the podium but council members told him he could not do so. He pushed his anti-Muslim agenda.
"This is an invasion on all fronts. Our people are being pushed out of the workplace. We're being pushed out of city council," Lang said.
Lang then began tearing the Quran and was escorted from the meeting by police
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud also spoke and addressed the protests.
"I want to speak to every resident of Dearborn who has felt that fear. I want to boldly say that you belong here. You belong here as much as anyone else, and the generations of the people who built this city proved it. Dearborn was built by people with different names, different accents, different traditions, and different ways of worshiping God," said Hammoud.
Tuesday was not the first time Lang and other anti-Islam activists have organized protests in Dearborn.
A video posted to social media showed a man walk up to Lang and punch him from behind during a peace march along Greenfield Road earlier this month. A group of men then chased Lang through a lot, some pummeling him with stones, before police officers intervened.
Dearborn is home to one of the largest Middle Eastern communities in the nation.
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