DETROIT-On Tuesday, Federal Judge Patrick J. Duggan, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, dismissed a lawsuit, filed by a Christian evangelist group, known as the Bible Believers, against the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, citing a stifling of freedom of speech, during the 2012 Arab International Festival.
The group had filed suit against the Sheriff’s department, who was responsible for security at the festival last year, for failing to protect them and threatening to arrest the group if they didn’t leave festival grounds. The group caused outrage when they protested at the festival, targeting Muslims and inciting a riot, by brandishing a pig’s head on a stick and displaying offensive signs; some of which read, “Prophet Muhammad is a Pedophile.” Community members responded by throwing rocks, bottles and debris at the group, as they walked through festival grounds.
The incident occurred over a span of approximately 90 minutes on the first day of the festival last year, during which the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department intervened, demanding that the group leave, or they would be arrested. 
The lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Department was filed in 2012 by the Bible Believers, who were represented by the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC), a pro-advocate freedom of speech group. The group had also filed an additional injunction in federal court, requesting that they ought to be entitled to additional security for a planned return at the upcoming 2013 Arab International Festival.
Attorney Nabih Ayad, who represented Defendants Wayne County Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon, Wayne County Deputy Chief Dennis Richards and Wayne County Deputy Chief Mike Jaafar, had filed a motion to dismiss the case entirely. In response, the plaintiffs had filed a motion to dismiss and cross-motion the defendants’ motion.

The Bible Believers demonstrated at the 2012 Arab International Festival carrying a pigs head on a stick.

In court last week, Ayad argued that the evangelist group’s allegations against the Sheriff’s Department were unjustifiable; stating that the department allowed the group to express their freedom of speech, up until they had provoked excessive disorderly conduct. Ayad also reminded the court that the law does not require private security for any kind of protesters.
On May 14, Judge Duggan filed an order, granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case. Additionally, the Judge ruled that the plaintiffs’ request, demanding special security at the festival was moot and further ordered that the plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss and cross-motion the original motion would be denied as well.
The defendants had submitted a video to the Court, as evidence of what had occurred at the festival. An edited version of the video had already been uploaded on YouTube by the evangelist group. That video, which had depicted local Arab and Muslim Americans as “uncivilized barbarians,” who were attacking Christians, went viral, attracting approximately 2 million views. However, the unedited version of the video helped to support the defense’s argument in Federal Court.
The document filed by the Judge reads, “on the basis of the unedited video recording, submitted by the defendants, the Court agrees with the defendants’ position and finds that the intervention in this case was justified on public safety grounds.” The document also stated that, “the Court finds that the actual demonstration of violence here provided the requisite justification for defendants’ intervention, even if the officials acted as they did because of the effect the speech had on the crowd.”
As of press time, it remains unknown if the Bible Believers still plan on attending the 2013 Arab Festival without the extra security that they had requested.
This year’s event has been moved from its usual location on Warren Avenue, to the gated area of Ford Woods Park, on the corner of Ford Road and Greenfield Road. The event will run from June 14-16 and, in an effort to limit tension and control crowds, the City of Dearborn may charge an admission fee.