DETROIT — A Garden City man was arrested Saturday after he allegedly threatened people at a march in Dearborn, police said.
Officials said the 27-year-old man threatened to harm people attending a march for justice and commemorating the Muslim holiday of Ashura. They said they arrested the suspect hours after the threats were made.
“When someone threatens violence against our community, we will act swiftly and decisively,” Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said in a statement. “There is zero tolerance for threats of this nature, and anyone who attempts to sow fear or division will be held fully accountable. The safety and unity of our community will always come first.”
They also said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Rahat Husain, executive director of the Shia Muslim Foundation in Washington, D.C., praised the city’s police officers for quickly responding to the potential threat. The foundation is a nonprofit that works to protect the civic rights of American Shia Muslims and advocates for them on social and political issues.
“This is not a theoretical problem,” Husain said in a statement. “Threats like these are an attack on religious freedom and an effort to terrorize a community.
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“The Ashura March for Justice and Arbaeen processions are lawful, sacred gatherings. Law enforcement must treat these cases with the highest urgency. We demand transparency and the full prosecution of offenders to prevent repeat actions.”
The march was organized by the Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center in Dearborn. Officials for the center said 40,000 people attended this year’s march, the largest in its history, in a post on its Facebook page.
They said the annual Arbaeen Procession is held to honor the legacy of the prominent seventh-century Islamic leader, Imam Hussain.
Officials with the center were not immediately available for comment Monday.
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