Dearborn prepares for anti-Islam protest spurred by Jake Lang, Lorenzo Sewell

The City of Dearborn is preparing for an anti-Islam protest expected to take place on Tuesday evening. 

Local officials have been telling residents for the past few days that there may be such activity, and police announced that they would have an "enhanced presence" at the Tuesday city council meeting. 

In the meantime, conservative activist Jake Lang and Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell posted a poster on their social media pages announcing a "Christian Crusader March on Dearborn City Council Meeting" with a "Stop Islamification of America" slogan. The announcements and response has garnered national attention.

Tuesday night's council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., would normally take place at the Dearborn Administrative Center, but city officials announced on Friday that the meeting would instead take place at Henry Ford Centennial Library. 

CBS Detroit plans to livestream the council meeting and will have a crew in Dearborn. 

Council agenda items 

The council's posted agenda includes a recommendation from the planning and zoning division that data center developments be restricted to general industrial districts, rather than also allowing them in light industrial districts.

The agenda also includes matters such as purchasing the lot where the fire safety house sits, granting permission for a classic car show on Aug. 29, granting a permit for the Dearborn Coffee Week Party in September and allowing a Little Free Library to be set in a city park.  

Pastor Jerry Riendeau of Grace Presbyterian Church is slated for the invocation ahead of the Pledge of Allegiance. A resolution offering condolences to the family of Ronnie L. Chandler will be presented. 

Then the first session of public comment opens.  

A second public comment time will open after the agenda items are completed. 

The expected protesters 

City officials made plans for the meeting location as they learned Jake Lang might be returning to Dearborn. Lang has visited Dearborn before and was seen walking around the streets and going to city council meetings, shouting Islamophobic rhetoric and harassing residents. 

City Council President Mike Sareini said he does expect Lang to want to speak at Tuesday's meeting. 

"I have had Mr. Lang in front of us before, and I intend to handle it in the same way. Everyone has the right to free speech," Sareini told CBS News Detroit.

Lang was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder and other crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot before he was pardoned by President Trump.  

What Dearborn city officials are saying 

On Wednesday, Dearborn City Council member Kamal Alsawafy said, "Everybody is entitled to their First Amendment rights, but there's a difference between expressing an opinion and deliberately coming into a community to provoke people because of their faith." 

There were also requests to avoid conflicts. 

"Please stay home. These groups that are coming here are coming for one reason, and that is to provoke a reaction and generate attention. If nobody shows up to react, they have nothing," Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said in a video.

What Dearborn religious leaders are saying 

Christian and Islamic leaders gathered on Monday with the intent to show a message of community unity, saying Dearborn is a welcoming and peaceful place. 

According to Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, there are nearly 30 Christian churches in the city and a little more than a dozen mosques. 

What Michigan's governor is saying 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued the following statement on Tuesday about the expected demonstration: 

"Dearborn is home to one of the most vibrant communities in America. Its residents are our friends and our neighbors.   

"Today, a group of agitators is traveling to Dearborn for the sole purpose of intimidating that community and provoking a reaction. Their plan emboldens and contributes to dangerous behavior, and I am asking every person of good will to denounce it. Their hate has no place in Michigan.    

"My top priority is keeping Michiganders safe. I've been in contact with Mayor Hammoud, and I echo Chief Shahin and local officials: do not confront or engage with demonstrators. Together, we stand united against hate in all its forms." 

What Sen. Slotkin is saying

"The people of Dearborn are once again under attack from an out-of-state influencer looking for controversy," U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin from Michigan posted on social media Tuesday.

"Michigan is united against hate and Islamophobia. Dearborn is as Michigan as it gets, and as Police Chief Issa Shahin said, these individuals are coming for one reason and one reason alone: To provoke a reaction. The most powerful thing this community can do is give them an audience. Don't give them the satisfaction."