Christian nationalist protest led by Jan. 6 rioter stokes tensions in Dearborn

“The Muslims are being used by the Democrats to instill socialism in America,” Lang said during the city council meeting as the crowd lingered outside. “Once the Muslims have power in this county, then they will start throwing homosexuals off the roofs.”

The protest before the city council meeting was defined by diametrically opposed groups of Christian nationalist and counterprotesters screaming to drown out the sound of each other. A line of police in riot gear kept the peace by standing between Lang’s group of provocateurs and the rest of the crowd that had gathered outside the Henry Ford Centennial Library, where the council meeting had been moved for safety reasons. Michigan Advance estimated the crowd size peaked at roughly 2,000 people.

“Here is to staying free from the Muslim Brotherhood takeover” yelled Lang ally Jayden Scott in a megaphone as he stood behind the police line separating him from the crowd. “We must fight back. This is a Christian nation. A Christian nation it shall remain.”

A throng of supporters answered with chants of “U.S.A, U.S.A.,” while a Black man with a megaphone of his own yelled “Jake Lang, repent”, saying Lang doesn’t follow the teachings of Jesus. 

Lang organized the protest with the help of Detroit Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, a supporter of President Donald Trump who was criticized for attempting to enrich himself through a cryptocurrency scheme after speaking at Trump’s second inauguration. Sewell is also a member of the Faith Coalition Leadership Team of Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who faces Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim, in November’s election. 

“Michigan families deserve a Senator who will stand up to hate rather than enable it,” El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak said in a press statement issued just prior to the rally. “Mike Rogers must immediately disavow this rally, his affiliation with Jake Lang and January 6th terrorists, and explain why his campaign’s faith advisor is rallying alongside out of state agitators against Michigan faith communities.”

A request for comment was made to the Rogers campaign, but was not returned. This story will be updated when a response is received.

Democratic elected leaders including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Secretary of State and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) all condemned Lang’s protest as an attempt to stir hatred that could directly harm Dearborn’s Muslim community. 

“Islamophobic racists are yet again marching in Dearborn to terrorize a whole faith community,” Tlaib said. “Dearborn is a beautifully diverse place, home to a vibrant, loving Muslim community, and our families do not deserve to be subjected to such hate and bigotry.”

At several moments, it seemed as if the clash between Lang’s Christian nationalist supporters and counterprotesters, mostly Dearborn residents, could turn violent. A small segment of the two groups — almost all men who appeared to range in age from their late teens to early 40s, some wearing masks or hoods to hide their faces — spewed much of the vitriolic rhetoric and tried to provoke each other into physical confrontations while denouncing the other side’s beliefs and defending their own.

“These (are) fake Christians!” One young Dearborn man yelled at a man in a U.S. Navy hat.

“Go back to your country!” The man responded.

Both men ignored an interview request from the Advance.

Muhammad al-thihabawi in his own words.

The unity he describes here is a little pollyanna. There were some real tense moments and anger. But he says he found unity amongst people of different religious and ethnic groups who believe in the “amendments” and that Dearborn isnt bad pic.twitter.com/CK9yGQbum9

— Tyler Scott (@T_Scotttttt) August 19, 2026

A significant portion of the crowd was uninterested in violence. The Advance observed several women urging their male partners to “shut the f**k up,” and stay calm out of concern that “you’re going to get arrested.” Some seemed only interested in observing Lang’s promised spectacle or trying to keep the peace. Most of the animosity seemed verbal. Dearborn police said information about arrests or violent altercations was not immediately available. 

At the end of the city council meeting’s public comment period, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who was recently the target of death threats by an Alaska man, addressed the crowd saying that word of Lang’s return to the city sparked fear across the city, with some businesses deciding not to open Tuesday. Hammoud said he met a young boy who asked “if the crusaders were going to kill him.”

Of the Christian nationalist protestors Hammoud said, “they are attacking the idea that everyone can belong to America at the same time.”

Donna Brandenburg, gubernatorial nominee of the U.S. Taxpayers Party, attended the protest and said the whole event seemed orchestrated to stoke political resentment. 

“It seems like a big act,” Brandenburg said. “It’s trying to divide people. People in Dearborn want peace. They don’t want the fighting. I saw more American flags in Dearborn than I did in Byron Center. People need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid.” 

Despite the palpable tension and verbal hostility that dominated the evening, Dearborn resident Muhammad Al-Thibabawi said he felt “unity” with people of different ethnic and religious groups and that most of the Christian nationalist protestors were uninformed about what Dearborn is. 

“I spoke to a lot of these guys who are like ‘dude we got here and this is just a normal city that practices their amendments to the fullest’” Al-Thibabawi said. “We take pride in what we have. We love America.”