Four of the six members of the Hamtramck City Council, along with a former member, are under criminal investigation for conspiracy and election fraud related to the illegal acquisition of absentee ballots. This is according to official documents recently released by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, which requested the appointment of a special prosecutor last month  due to the “religious and social sensitivity” of the case.

The investigation involves Council members Mohammed Hassan, Muhtasin Rahman Sadman, Mohammed Al-Somiri and Abu Musa, in addition to former Council member Nayeem Choudhury, who lost his re-election bid in 2023. A sixth individual added to the investigation is Tyronne Slappey, though his connection to the local government of this culturally and racially diverse city remains unclear.

A petition filed on March 10 by Danielle Hagaman-Clark, assistant attorney general and head of the Criminal Investigations Division, accuses the six individuals of “conspiring to obtain unmarked absentee ballots signed by newly naturalized citizens, then filling them out with their own candidate choices” during the 2023 City Council election. The petition also states that some suspects “paid money for votes and coerced others to claim residence at addresses they did not actually live in” to sway election outcomes.

While some of the accused Council members have denied the allegations, others declined to comment during phone interviews with local newspapers.

In the final round of the Hamtramck City Council elections in November 2023, Bangladeshi American Mohammed Hassan led the race with 22 percent of the vote, followed by Yemeni American Mohammed Al-Somiri. Bangladeshi American Muhtasin Sadman narrowly beat his opponent, Lyn Blasey, by just 82 votes. Former council member Nayeem Choudhury, also of Bangladeshi descent, placed fifth with 15.3 percent of the vote.

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office justified its request for a special prosecutor by citing the “political and religious sensitivity” of the case — particularly given previous criticism of Attorney General Dana Nessel for opposing Council decisions related to LGBTQ+ issues and for filing charges against pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Michigan last fall.

The Hamtramck City Council is composed entirely of Muslim members of Yemeni and Bangladeshi descent, along with Mayor Amer Ghalib, who chairs the Council under the city charter. In May, the Council unanimously adopted a resolution to divest from Israel and boycott products from companies that support the Israeli state, which it accused of practicing apartheid and committing ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in the occupied territories.

In her petition seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor, Hagaman-Clark rejected claims that the legal proceedings were driven by anti-Muslim or anti-Arab bias.

“Critics — though unjustifiably — have claimed these prosecutions stem from bias against Muslims and/or individuals of Arab descent,” she wrote, noting that one of the suspects, Councilman Mohammed Alsomiri, is of Arab origin, which adds to the sensitivity of the case.

Danny Wimmer, spokesperson for Attorney General Nessel’s office, confirmed that the case was referred to the FBI in December, but the bureau declined to take it on. This prompted Nessel to formally petition in March for the appointment of a special prosecutor.

According to Wayne County court records, the Attorney General’s Office requested arrest warrants in October for Mohammed Hassan and Muhtasin Sadman on charges related to identity fraud and ballot tampering. However, no criminal charges have yet been filed against them.

Hamtramck City Clerk Rana Faraj stated in a March 12 letter to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office that “video evidence shows individuals depositing large bundles of absentee ballots into drop boxes all at once”, raising concerns about the integrity of the election process.

This case emerges as the April 22 deadline approaches for submitting candidacy applications for the upcoming Hamtramck City Council elections, which will include three open four-year seats and the mayoral race. Muslims make up more than two-thirds of the city’s nearly 28,000 residents.

As the deadline for the mayoral and City Council seats approaches, the political landscape in Hamtramck is shifting. Mayor Ghalib has been nominated by President Trump for a U.S. ambassador position, which could leave a temporary vacancy in the mayor’s office.

While Hamtramck’s Council positions are officially nonpartisan, some members have shown clear support for Democratic candidates, particularly in the context of the 2024 presidential election. Both Hassan and Alsomiri backed Kamala Harris, while Musa and Sadman were seen with Ghalib and others at Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C.

The situation remains fluid, with the community watching closely as the investigation unfolds and the election looms.