Five Michigan House Republicans insisted Monday that the Justice Department investigate a rally in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn earlier this month at which participants chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
The lawmakers, led by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), argued that the demonstrators represented a clear threat to national security.
“To quickly dismiss these gatherings as people simply exercising their First Amendment rights is not only a dereliction of your duty, but a failure to recognize them as a tinderbox of violence,” the quintet wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland in a letter obtained by The Post.
“We implore the Department of Justice to take swift and decisive action to investigate and prosecute the people leading these violent threats against the safety of the American people.”
The rally was held April 5 to mark Al-Quds Day, an annual event held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to express support for the Palestinian cause and condemnation of Israel.
Local activist Tarek Bazzi, who organized the Dearborn gathering, railed against “the United States government providing funds that allow the atrocities” and Israel’s “satanic actions.”
Chants calling for the destruction of both America and Israel were heard during Bazzi’s remarks.
Video of the rally drew national attention and the demonstration was condemned by the White House.
The Republicans who signed Monday’s letter described the protest and similar events across America as “platforms for terrorism and violence.”
“As defenders of the Constitution of the United States against enemies both foreign and domestic, and as staunch supporters of Israel, we are alarmed by the increasing calls to violence against anyone not espousing their radical agenda,” they went on.
The five Republicans demanded Garland explain what measures the Justice Department is taking to investigate the matter, whether it is aware of any ties between rally organizers to Hamas, and whether there is any federal coordination with state and local authorities on such threats.
Dearborn is home to the largest population of Muslims per capita in the US while Michigan has the largest population of Arab-Americans of any state in the US.
Some Republicans had blasted prominent Michigan Democrats, such as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), for not joining the White House in their denunciations.
Whitmer belatedly condemned the rally Sunday, telling Fox News that such “hateful rhetoric is unacceptable, and does not represent Michigan or Dearborn.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
