Jake Lang’s Dearborn ‘crusaders march’ draws protests, Nazis

DEARBORN, Mich. — Right-wing agitator Jake Lang caused a blockage around Dearborn’s Henry Ford Centennial Library Tuesday night and used the library steps and city council meeting to preach about his “Christian Crusade” taking over the city. The night descended into shouting matches between protesters, preachers, Lang’s supporters and Nazis accusing Lang of being Jewish.

Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrectionist, brought his megaphones, loudest supporters and anti-Muslim rhetoric to Dearborn nearly two weeks after a group allegedly assaulted him. The city’s police arrested one man in connection with the crime and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained an Iraqi American on assault charges. He returned, claiming the Dearborn Police Department failed to protect him and shouting that Muslims were stoning him for being Christian.

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“This man refused to condemn the Muslims who attacked me with stones,” Lang said in an Instagram video, speaking to Police Chief Issa Shanin. “You called me the hateful agitator when I said ‘Jesus is king.’”

Tensions grew after Nazis entered the property with a banner that read “Jake Lang is a Jew,” waving a swastika flag and wearing the kampfbinde. They clashed with Lang’s supporters and residents over their messaging, which at times included antisemitic statements.

Some were unfazed by Nazis and returned to their “U.S.A.,” “go back to your country” and “Jesus Christ is king” chants. 

The night’s main event was the city council meeting. Police maintained a barricade and donned riot gear outside of the library while people shouted at one another. 

Before heading inside, Lang held a rally at the entrance and called for President Donald Trump to send federal immigration authorities to Dearborn to deport residents. Lang also expanded his attacks on Abdul El-Sayed, the U.S. Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, alleging the two are anti-American and deserve deportations. 

El-Sayed was born in Michigan. Mamdani was born in Uganda and maintains dual citizenship.

Lang entered the library around 7:30 p.m., half an hour after the city council meeting commenced. Inside, his public comment centered around his angst against Muslims, making claims about the religion’s objectives and its followers’ purpose in America. 

“This is an invasion on all fronts,” Lang told city council.

MAGA gear, Bible quotes and Nazis

Dearborn and Michigan State Police blocked off portions of Michigan Avenue, a main thoroughfare in the city, ahead of the night’s events, at points tripling commute time in and out of Dearborn. 

People filled the library’s lawn, preaching about Christianity, salvation and promoting Lang’s message about Muslims. All the while, people flocked to the Arab-majority city waving flags and at times, trolling Lang’s supporters. 

Nazek Mroueh told Straight Arrow that Lang and his followers are spreading information she said leaves her terrified for her five children. She said the climate feels worse than it did after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. 

She defied Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s suggestion to stay home so she could speak with people and answer questions they have about her religion. Several people were overheard shouting for destruction to Islam and claiming hijabi women were being oppressed. 

“The Islamophobia, it’s like they’re working overtime, complete overtime right now, especially on social media,” Mroueh said. “All the false memes that are going around and people are reposting, it’s crazy.” 

The Dearborn Police Department detained at least five people Tuesday night. Police Corporal Dan Bartok Jr. wrote in an email that the department arrested 22 people whose ages ranged from 18 to 64 and were a mix of Michiganders, New Yorkers, Tennesseans and others. Police charged them with misdemeanor offenses for breach of peace and disorderly conduct. 

No major injuries were reported. One woman was spotted at the protest needing medical assistance for a leg injury while people handed out bottled water to the crowd. 

Lang targets Muslims

Lang directed his energy inside at the city’s leadership, where the mayor and police chief are Muslims. He took exception to taqiyya Muslims, people who follow Islam but shield their religious beliefs for safety and claimed they’re “stealing” America.

Lang shouted that Muslims were in America to sexually assault others and repeated a claim that 250,000 English women were raped by “Pakistani Muslims and they got little slaps on the wrist.” That’s in reference to a report the United Kingdom’s Home Secretary released detailing group-based sexual abuse that occurred between 2000 and 2006. Nine men, so far, have been charged in connection with the abuses, with charges ranging from rape to child sexual abuse, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. 

“You’re fake Muslims. You’re just using the Democrats — these woke liberal idiots, the women in New York — to gain power,” Lang said. 

Reaction inside was mixed, with some people jeering and others cheering at Lang for his statements.  

The white supremacist went on to claim Christianity is outlawed in the Middle East, despite countries like Lebanon, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, among others, having high concentrations of Christians, according to the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Still, a majority of countries in the region like Afghanistan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have made Islam their nation’s official religion. Countries like Iran, and Saudi Arabia and others have track records of imprisoning or killing Christians, according to the International Christian Concern, a group that monitors what it says are religious persecution.

“We’re here to reclaim America for the Blacks and the white people,” Lang said. “We will not allow these third-world mongrels to run roughshod over us without a fight.”

Police escorted Lang outside of the library for causing disruption during the meeting. 

Residents: Lang misunderstood about Dearborn

The march that Lang said would drive Muslims out of the city, and largely, America, drew in the opposite. Residents instead turned the night into an outdoor party, waving flags from numerous Middle Eastern countries and doing dabke dances, a traditional dance that originates from the Levant region, which includes Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Jordan.

Vivian Rushlow traveled 20 minutes east from Romulus to Dearborn with Hunter Swoveland and said what Lang preached isn’t what they saw. They acknowledged Michigan’s high concentration of Muslims, but said it’s part of the state’s culture. 

Michigan State Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, told the crowd at city council that Lang isn’t representative of America and his impression of Dearborn is misled. He added the city is where Ford got its start and has neighbors willing to help one another. 

“Take the time and learn about your neighbors,” Farhat said. “Don’t follow the clickbait. Don’t follow the attention.”

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