Month in Review – September 2017

AFLC_Month-in-review_smallBanner (3)Here are the highlights for September 2017:

* On September 6, all criminal charges against Cal Zastrow were dismissed with prejudice. AFLC represented Mr. Zastrow, a pro-life demonstrator who was unlawfully arrested by police officers from the City of Westland, Michigan for allegedly disturbing the peace when he was preaching the Gospel outside of an abortion facility in the City.

* On September 6, we filed a motion on behalf of our client, Urth Caffe, seeking to amend our cross-complaint by publicly naming all seven Muslim women accused of trespassing at the Urth Caffe in Laguna Beach.  Urth Caffe’s original trespass counter lawsuit followed on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the seven women claiming they were subjected to religious discrimination when the Urth Caffe staff asked them to leave after the women refused to abide by the café’s seating policy.  The women later made the fraudulent claim that they were evicted from the café because they wore hijabs—Islamic head coverings worn by some Muslim women.

Four of the seven plaintiffs claimed that their safety would be at risk by disclosing their names.  However, they could point to no instance of a single threat to their safety nor could they point to a single instance where Muslims had sued for discrimination, and there are plenty of high-profile cases to choose from, where a single Muslim was put in harm’s way as a result of the filing of a lawsuit for discrimination in his or her own name.

* Following up on the depositions of three of the plaintiffs in the Urth Caffe litigation, we completed the depositions of another three of the plaintiffs during the week of September 11.  The only plaintiff of seven not yet deposed is the one living in Amman, Jordan who refuses to have her deposition taken in California.  Although we had arranged for a video deposition, she failed to secure the requisite logistics, and we are waiting to reschedule.

* On September 8, we took the deposition of two police officers involved in the unlawful arrest of our client, Ms. Kimberley Thames.  Our lawsuit was filed against the City and several police officers who unlawfully arrested and detained Ms. Thames based on a false claim that she made a bomb threat at the Northland Family Planning Center, a notorious abortion facility.  Ms. Thames spent two days in jail before she was eventually released, with no charges.

* On September 19, we took the deposition of Professor Breger, who was presented as an expert testifying on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas front group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).  In this case, AFLC is representing five plaintiffs who were victims of a CAIR fraud.  Central to CAIR’s defense is the claim that whatever wrong it engaged in, it was in an effort to help the victims as a legitimate Muslim civil rights organization.  Our clients had already obtained the expert testimony of Hon. Joseph Schmitz, former Inspector General of the Department of Defense, establishing that CAIR is not a legitimate civil rights organization but rather a front for the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas in the United States.  Professor Breger is CAIR’s “expert”, but it turned out that this Catholic University law professor is nothing more than a paid shill for the Muslim Brotherhood and not an expert on the matters at hand.

* On September 25, we defended the deposition of Hon. Joseph Schmitz when CAIR’s lawyers deposed him.

* On September 28, we filed our reply brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in our case challenging the decision of the City of Sterling Heights, Michigan to enter into a consent judgment with the American Islamic Community Center (AICC) in which the City is allowing AICC to build a mosque in a local residential community in violation of the zoning laws.  This closes the briefing.  We are now awaiting a date for oral argument.

* On September 29, we filed a new lawsuit against the City of Westland, Michigan, challenging the constitutionality of its “disturbing the peace” ordinance, which the City police officers have used to suppress the free speech rights of pro-life demonstrators at the Northland abortion facility located in the City.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support.  We couldn’t do what we do without them!