Kroger, located on Greenfield and Michigan Ave.

DEARBORN – Wayne County Prosecutor
Kym Worthy announced on Friday, April 24 that she would not press charges in an
incident that took place at a Dearborn Kroger earlier this year, involving a
61-year-old Arab-American Muslim man and two Caucasian men. 

The February 12 incident made shock waves
across metro Detroit, after witnesses had claimed that two Caucasian brothers,
age 46 and 44, had confronted the Muslim man while he was grocery shopping with
his children.

The men lashed derogatory remarks at the family
that included
“go back to your county”; called them “terrorists” and
linked them to ISIS. 

The Muslim man’s
daughter, who wore a headscarf, was allegedly told to “take the rag off
her head.”

Witnesses at the scene
described the encounter as “bloody” and “violent.” The two Taylor men left the
vicinity before Dearborn Police arrived on the store.

Weeks later, community
outrage grew after the City of Dearborn announced that in a through
investigation involving the FBI, there would not be charges made against those
involved in the incident.

Many residents were
disappointed with speculations and facts surrounding the case, including a
statement from Mayor Jack O’Reilly which claimed that the Muslim man may have
been speaking in Arabic to his children, enticing the two Caucasian men to
confront him.

Following the murders of
three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the Arab American
community had feared that hate crimes were tricking into the metro-Detroit
region.

The case was then forwarded
to The Wayne County Prosecutors Office for further investigation.

Worthy said there was
“insufficient evidence” to make charges on the case. She noted that the two men
accused of assaulting the Arab American man also filed a counter-complaint that
they were allegedly attacked by the Muslim man.

“After months of investigation and follow-up work, we
simply do not have sufficient, credible and admissible information to be able
to proceed on either the complaint or cross complaint,” Worthy said.
“We spent considerable time and resources trying to get to the truth in
this case so that a charging decision could be made using the appropriate legal
standards,” 

Wayne County prosecutors “conducted interviews and reviewed
witness statements of the cross-complainants,” said the Wayne County
Prosecutor’s Office in a statement today. “Additionally, other witnesses
were interviewed and photographs related to the incident and an in-store video
was reviewed. Neither the video nor the photos captured the alleged
incident.”

On Friday afternoon, the Muslim man paid a visit to The Arab
American News office appearing very angry by the announcement made at the
county.

He claimed that his children have been emotionally impaired by
the incident and have since been seeking therapy since the alleged assault. He
also claimed that he was disappointed in the lack of support provided by the
Arab American community in the aftermath of the event.

When we requested to speak with him further, he wished to remain
anonymous and did not elaborate on the next steps he would take.

In the weeks following the incident, the man had made several visits
to The Arab American News office as well. At the time he also debunked growing
speculation that the incident had occurred because the two Caucasian men had
seen him open a container of Ice Cream and eat it with his fingers.

American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee of Michigan (ADC-MI)
Director Fatina Adbrabboh told The Arab American News that despite the findings
of the case, the community should be proud that their concerns were able to be
heard.

“It is our responsibility as community advocates to present the issues raised by our community,” Abdrabboh said. “Hate crimes represent a high threshold for prosecution and charging decisions often hinge on a spectrum of reasons including likelihood of winning a case.  

While Abdrabboh is disappointed that there will be no charges
made in the case, she added that she appreciated the County’s through
investigation into the matter.

“The Kroger case represents the success of our community to
raise issues of grave concern,” Abdrabboh added. “We appreciate the time and resources Prosecutor Worthy spent on this case and find them to be an indication the system is not perfect but that we must always work with it.  The Arab American community knows that recognition of the investigative problems that ADC Michigan raised is a success today and for all of us in the future.”