Hamtramck, MI – On May 10, hundreds assembled on the corner of Joseph Campau and Caniff Streets following a call put out by the Detroit Resisting Oppression by President Trump Coalition (DROPT Coalition) to push Jake Lang and other racists out of Hamtramck. Lang and his crew had publicly announced what they claimed would be the “largest book burning in American history,” including the burning of a Quran outside of Al-Islah Islamic Center.

On the day of, Lang and his followers began to back out of their book-burning in Hamtramck, posting on social media that he was going to Dearborn, while messaging his followers that he was going to Hamtramck. For over four hours, he repeatedly changed his arrival time, showing his fear of the community and the organizers who sought to chase him out.

Jackson Robak of Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “They are weak because they know they are not supported by the people.”

Afterward, Hamtramck community leader Dr. Mohammad Alam spoke on the pride immigrant families take in Hamtramck. “We came from all over, but this is our home here and abroad. Hamtramck is the beacon and hope for many of us; we cherish Hamtramck. We are law-abiding citizens, yet you come from somewhere and try to slam on our faith, we aren’t going to take it.” Showing the connection between these racist thugs and the Trump administration, Alam added, “Just like when ICE comes taking families, they are deporting, they are removing, they are destructing [destroying]! We do not want to see this!”

Minutes later, Jake Lang attempted to drive past the crowd in a U-Haul, but was hit with water bottles, flag poles, and other objects, forcing him to speed out of the city.

He would soon drive to Dearborn in the hopes of going to the Islamic Center of America, only to be pulled over for being on his phone while driving. While he was pulled over, dozens assembled on Evergreen Road in Dearborn to continue the attempt to chase him out of the communities he intended to intimidate. Even as he was protected by police, the protests got closer and louder to Lang, and saw him get his U-Haul towed and himself arrested for possession of psychedelic mushrooms.

The next day, he attempted to once again burn a Quran outside the ICA in Dearborn, only for the community and activists to once again assemble to stop him. This time, initially, the police used fire extinguishers to stop Lang’s attempted burning, but gave up, leaving the activists to use their own fire extinguishers to put out the fires and take books from his hands.

Lang, as well as three activists, were arrested. Shamefully, Lang was released quickly from the Dearborn Police Station, while protest organizers went to the jail to demand the timely release of the activists arrested. After hours, they were bailed out due to community support.

Jake Lang is a racist grifter who seeks to violently intimidate Arab and Muslim communities around Metro Detroit, Minnesota and New York. However, every time he comes, he gets driven out, arrested, and shown to be weaker than the last time. In Metro Detroit, these facts were once again made obvious by the communities and activists who he attempted to threaten.

#HamtramckMI #MI #PeoplesStruggles #Lang #RightWing #Featured

Hamtramck, MI – On Saturday, March 25, the Detroit City FC, a soccer team, played their home opener at Keyworth Stadium against the Indy Eleven. For this game, the Detroit Celtic Supporters Club (DCSC) called for a Palestinian solidarity protest and called for fans to bring a Palestinian flag to wave. This was due to Israel – the Zionist entity – banning the waving and public use of the Palestinian flag in Palestine.

At least 30 people were waving flags at the game with many more supporters standing close by in this solidarity bloc of the fan section. This caused other attendees of the game who weren’t taking part to come up to protesters and respectfully ask what the flags meant and why they were there – leading to informative conversations.

A quick search for the Detroit Celtic Supporters Club website shows an active and progressively oriented grouping with a record of putting their convictions into practice with various charities they support and political actions, such as one on the occasion of Malcolm X’s birthday. They support the Glasgow Celtic, which is known for its progressive and anti-imperialist history.

Sean Kelly, the founder and president of the DCSC, said, “I have been bringing the Palestinian flag to Detroit City FC games since 2013 and it has always created conversation, but with the increasing violence of the Zionist entity I thought it was imperative as a leftist and the anti-imperialist beliefs of the DCSC to call for a flag solidarity protest for the home opener.”

He also said he planned on continuing to bring flags to every home game throughout the season and invites others to continue to bring theirs.

Leaving the game, which, sadly, Detroit City FC lost 0-1, one participant said, “It’s really encouraging to see so many leftists here building connections and having a good time with each other while pushing the struggle for liberation in Palestine into the conversation for a stadium full of football fans. I hope this is just the beginning of building a popular leftist culture and social life in Detroit.”

#HamtramckMI #Palestine #FreePalestine #MiddleEast