Latest news with #Dearborn
CBS News
2 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Dearborn man accused of threatening kids, parents at Bloomfield Hills synagogue pleads guilty to gun crime
A Dearborn man who reportedly made antisemitic threats outside of an Oakland County synagogue has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing firearms, federal officials said. Hassan Chokr, 37, pleaded guilty Wednesday to being a felon in possession of a firearm after possessing multiple firearms inside a gun store. Chokr is accused of making racist and antisemitic threats to parents, children and security personnel at a parking lot at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills on the morning of Dec. 2, 2022. After being asked to leave the synagogue's property, officials say Chokr went to a gun store in Dearborn and attempted to purchase three firearms. While at the store, U.S. attorneys say Chokr held all three guns and "at times pointed it and pulled the trigger." Chokr, who is a convicted felon, is accused of lying about his eligibility to possess firearms. While waiting for the results of his background check, officials claim Chokr said he would "even the score" and use the guns for "God's wrath." The store denied Chokr's firearms purchase after the background check. Chokr was charged by Oakland County prosecutors with two counts of ethnic intimidation. "Chokr's attempt to purchase several deadly firearms in an apparent attempt to follow through on his menacing threats against parents and preschoolers as they walked into a place of worship represents every American's worst nightmare. And we will not allow anyone to terrorize our Jewish neighbors. We are committed to protecting every American and their right to live and worship free of fear," said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. in a statement. Chokr will be sentenced on Sept. 24. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
‘A cynical ploy to hold power': how the US right has exploited racial division
In the year 1968, a group of housewives in Dearborn, Michigan, then a nearly all-white suburb of Detroit, gathered for a workshop on how to shoot a gun. The women at the pistol range, mostly late-middle age and grandmotherly, were reacting to rhetoric from Richard Nixon's presidential campaign, which fixated on a so-called crime wave. They were scared, defensive, willing to pick up a gun as a guard against what Nixon called 'cities enveloped in smoke and flame'. The neighboring city of Detroit was 40% Black, and the 'crime' supposedly overtaking US cities meant, in this context, Black people, and white suburbia's racist fear of them. Nixon knew this, though he didn't say it outright – 'You have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the Blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to,' he once said, as quoted in the opening minutes of White with Fear, a new documentary on decades of Republican political strategy to stoke and manipulate white racial resentment. As White with Fear immediately makes clear with footage of the old ladies with their pistols braided into clips of contemporary Republican 'migrant crime' soundbites, the political tradition of dog-whistling white fear remains strong. The only difference between Dearborn housewives with, as a 1968 newscaster put it, 'suburbia's new tranquilizer', and the viral photo of a white Missouri couple pointing an AR-15 at Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, is the quality of the footage and the openness of the hostility. That couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, went on to speak at the 2020 Republican national convention and folded easily in Donald Trump's 'Make America great again' (Maga) movement, which harnessed and turbocharged the 'white fear industrial complex', as CNN host Brian Stelter put it in the film. Over 90 minutes, White with Fear traces the development and success of said complex post 1968, when Nixon rode the so-called 'southern strategy' – subtly endorsing racial segregation, discrimination and resentment to court erstwhile white voters in the South – to the White House. Nixon's approach demonstrated that 'when you appeal to whites on the basis of race, they will go all the way to changing their political party,' said Andrew Goldberg, the film's director. 'Nixon takes this slightly used strategy and puts it on steroids and makes it national policy.' And it stayed national policy, at least as a conditional strategy of the right and propellant of the ongoing culture wars. White with Fear outlines numerous waves of the white fear industrial complex, such as anti-bussing actions in the 1970s, the popularity and endurance of Fox News, the post-September 11 anti-Muslim agenda, the Obama birtherism conspiracies first propagated by the US president, all the way through to the current Maga movement built on 55 years of Republican dog-whistling. 'Back in the 60s and 70s, they'd say: 'I'm not talking about Blacks, I'm talking about bussing,'' said Goldberg. 'Now you would say: 'I'm not talking about Chinese people, I'm talking about Covid.'' (Trump, of course, called the virus 'kung flu' as president.) 'Or: 'I'm not talking about Muslims, I'm talking about terrorism.' But after we've used those phrases so much, who comes to mind?' 'These are words that are silent about race. And yet, when you say the word 'thug', who do you think about?' he added. For most white Americans, there's an association with the color of one's skin. 'And that's the nature of how these words are dangerous.' The film differentiates between the emotions provoked in white constituents, and the cynical political thinking that sees such emotions as a way to win elections. 'From a strategic point of view, there's a certain intelligence to how they approach this, and it's very successful,' said Goldberg. Steve Bannon, a chief architect of Trump's anti-immigrant campaign strategy, appears in the film to confirm an approach based around the idea of appealing to white voters scared of outsiders and alienated by the Democratic party. 'They're so willing to talk about it,' said a bemused Goldberg. 'They don't blur the actions, as if they're trying to make it sound less or more virtuous or not. Bannon just loves to tell you what he does.' Goldberg spoke to several former or current Republican operatives who attest to numerous examples of politicians knowingly stoking racial resentment, including former Breitbart writer Katie McHugh; Jason Van Tatenhove, a former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers who defected and warned against the rising risks of rightwing militant groups; and former Fox News host Carl Cameron. 'We really tried to avoid having a collection of Democratic pundits pointing their finger and making accusations of Republicans,' said Goldberg. 'It was so important to us to have as many first-person sources who told us what they did. Or if there was an opinion to be cast on a situation, we wanted to get a Republican, or at least a former Republican, to tell us that story.' The stories are indicative of a line of political thinking that has only grown more dominant and cynical. Tim Miller, a former Republican National Committee spokesperson who was one of the early GOP critics of Trump in 2016, remembers how Republican campaign mailers in 2008 referred to the Democratic candidate as 'Barack Hussein Obama' because 'Hussein' drove engagement among older white voters. McHugh recalls working directly with Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of policy and arguably the most racist and extremist of his advisers, while a writer at Breitbart. A political consultant expresses no moral qualm with dog-whistling, as the job of a political consultant is to attract as many votes as possible, motivation irrelevant. At one point, Goldberg asks Sam Nunberg, a 2016 Trump campaign staffer, why Trump doesn't do normal Republican talking points like small government and lower taxes. He responds: 'Because that shit is boring and we're not going to win! Straight up policy? That's Mitt Romney, and we're not winning.' What is winning, at least at the moment, is outright racial baiting – decrying 'migrant crime' that doesn't exist, claiming that immigrants who are in fact reviving US cities are instead 'destroying' them, fanning flames that critical race theory is hurting children, in the latest mutation of fear-based rhetoric that has converted more suburban mothers into rightwing political activists via Moms for Liberty. Even Hillary Clinton, who appears briefly to comment on the rise of Trumpism, concedes that 'it's brilliant' to stoke fears that books with diverse characters could threaten the safety of white children. Some do believe it; many others know better. 'The amount of planning and strategy that goes into all these actions are designed to keep the base engaged,' Goldberg noted. 'When you win elections, you hold power. This is all a cynical ploy to hold power.' White with Fear is available to rent digitally in the US on 3 June with a UK date to be announced
CBS News
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Dearborn's annual Memorial Day parade returns for its 99th year
Many communities nationwide commemorate the holiday with parades, including Dearborn, where city officials say they host Michigan's oldest Memorial Day parade. The parade returned to the east side of the city, taking the original route when the parade first started 99 years ago. The day began with a memorial funeral procession paying tribute to the fallen. "It's a day to say thank you to the families who have lost people who served. It's a day for us to recognize how many people serve in our armed forces from the state of Michigan," Lieutenant Gov. Garlin Gilchrist. Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says the most important part is recognizing those who serve as a community. "I've been attending this festival, this parade, since I was a child sitting on the sideline of Michigan Avenue along with my family, and now to be in the parade itself is truly something special," Hammoud said. The parade started on Michigan Avenue and Schafer Road, its historic home. "I think it kind of honors the tradition that we celebrate during Memorial Day, and just kind of getting back to what it's always been," said Dearborn resident Stephanie Davis. More than 90 groups, including lawmakers, first responders, marching bands from local schools, and community organizations, walked the route. The day wrapped up with a remembrance ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park. For veterans in attendance, it's an opportunity to pay tribute to friends who never made it out of uniform. "People are forgotten about when you stop saying their names and you stop remembering the things that they did, and I think Memorial Day makes sure that that doesn't happen," said veteran and Michigan State Police Trooper Joshua Olszewski.
CBS News
7 days ago
- General
- CBS News
World War II exhibit in Metro Detroit spotlights women who served
SUV crashes into building in Redford; holiday travel peak times; and more top stories SUV crashes into building in Redford; holiday travel peak times; and more top stories SUV crashes into building in Redford; holiday travel peak times; and more top stories Memorial Day is for honoring and remembering the men and women who died serving in the military. Women are sometimes overlooked. At a new exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, they're getting the recognition that they deserve. Sitting outside the new exhibit and taking pictures on Sunday with guests was World War II Veteran George Leland. "I'm over 100 years old. I still have my hair!" Leland said. One of the original "Rosie the Riveters," Virginia Rusch, was also there. "The name of it was Republic, aircraft division, and what I did, I soldered combs," Rusch said. Virginia was just 15 years old when she took the job. "I lied. I told them I was 17. I wanted to help, which I think I did," Rusch said. They're here to see "Our War Too," which celebrates the nearly 350,000 women who served during World War II. CBS News Detroit "World War II was happening during a time when women were expected to be at home, they were expected to stay in the kitchen, help their kids, all very important things," Lori Petrelius, museum programs Manager for the Henry Ford Museum, said. "But it took World War II for us to realize that women need to be in the workforce." It features more than 200 artifacts. "It's lovely, terrific amount of work that's going into this that brought back a lot of memories, seeing a lot of these things here," Leland said. An interactive display at the exhibit allows you to hear from actual service women. "They just sacrificed everything to be in the military, the ladies that were in there, and they all worked very hard, and they all had certain jobs to do, and they did them accurately. Especially the nurses," Leland said. This exhibit is proof of their legacy. "I'm so happy for all the all the ladies. Proud of them. Just proud of them," Rusch said. And history we should never forget. The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 7.
CBS News
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Dearborn installing more speed radar boxes to fight against speedy drivers
Driving around Dearborn, you'll notice new speed radar boxes all over the city. The pilot program started late last year, and the city now has about 40 boxes installed, with more on the way. It's part of an ongoing effort to stop reckless driving. Near the intersection of Vassar and Madison streets are a pair of speed radar boxes. "They're placed in neighborhoods that are likely to cause speeding violations or places that we've received complaints from residents in and around parks, neighborhoods, schools, etc," said Dearborn Police Corporal Dan Bartok. As a car drives by, the radar picks up the vehicle's speed. If it's over the posted speed limit in bold letters, it tells you to slow down. "It's designed to make drivers more aware of what their speed is, and to give them an opportunity to slow down, obey the speed limit, and be more conscious of their driving," Bartok said. The city is planning to install about 20 more of these speed radar boxes, bringing the total to 60. It's just one of many examples of traffic calming measures aimed at reducing reckless driving. Flashing stop signs and speed humps are among the other tools that have implemented to tackle an ongoing issue. "We're taking a very aggressive approach to traffic safety in the city of Dearborn. Traffic safety and hazardous moving violations is the No.1 concern of our residents, and we're taking all the steps possible to try to reduce traffic violations," Bartok said. Authorities say their efforts are making an impact, with speeding being one of the top complaints. "We've already received feedback from residents in the neighborhoods that they have seen a noticeable change in driving behaviors, you know, not exclusively due to the speed radar box, but because of the whole government approach," Bartok said. "If you're speeding in Dearborn, you will get cited for speeding. You're going to get a ticket, and the fines are heavy, and we want drivers to obey the speed limits." Police say that by obeying the traffic laws, you can keep everyone safe.
