Tagged: terry jones

A six person jury decided just after 6:30pm that Pastor Terry Jones should post a 'peace bond' if he planned to go ahead with an anti-Islamic rally outside a  Dearborn mosque. Jones refused to pay the one dollar bond required. Then Judge Mark Somer had the controversial Florida minister arrested and placed in jail.

Update 5:37 p.m.

Michigan Radio's Rina Miller is at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn and phoned in the above reports.

On their live blog, the Free Press reports that "several hundred people have gathered outside the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn for a Terry Jones counterrally, listening to speakers who have pleaded for peace and understanding.

Crowd members are carrying signs that say, 'We are Peace,' 'We Are Islam," and 'Hope, not Hurt.'"

Update: 4:32 p.m.

The Detroit Free Press reports that members of assorted police departments have gathered at the site of the planned counter-protest outside of the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn. The Freep reports they have riot gear "on hand visible inside several vans, including helmets and sticks."

From the Freep:

Emergency crews from more than a half-dozen agencies are gathered outside the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn.

They are on guard for a scheduled 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. counter-rally organized by Detroit-area religious leaders in response to a Florida pastor’s desire to hold his own rally outside Dearborn’s Islamic Center of America, one of the nation’s largest mosques.

2:40 p.m.

Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who organized a Quran burning last month, plans to hold his anti-Muslim rally tonight at 5 p.m. at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn regardless of the outcome of this afternoon's trial.

He said during the trial that he knows of 5 people from his church who will be there.

Prosecutors say more than 10,000 people could show up to counter protest his rally and they fear violence could erupt.

They liken Jones' intent to hold an anti-Muslim rally outside one of the largest mosques in the United States  to shouting "fire" in a crowded theater.

A counter-rally has been planned at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn 3 miles away from the mosque.

It's scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

Michigan Radio's Rina Miller will attend the rallies and file updates for us.

Update 1:57

Judge Mark Somers gave the jury instructions on how to evaluate the prosecutor's case against Terry Jones. The trial will decide whether Jones is allowed to hold an anti-Muslim rally outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.

The jurors are to evaluate whether Jones is likely to breach the peace or not.

The jury's decision must be unanimous.

Update 11:52 a.m.

The trial is on recess. The parties and the jury are to return at 1 p.m.

Muslim and Christian clergy say people should not confront the controversial Florida pastor who plans to protest jihad and Sharia law in front of a Dearborn mosque today.

Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini leads the Islamic Center of America, where Pastor Terry Jones wants to stage his protest. He says Jones is looking for publicity, and that’s his right:

"But when he calls himself a religious leader, a pastor, then he should hold himself to a higher standard, and that is our problem with him."

Reverend Charles Williams Junior says there will be no conflict in Dearborn if the protest goes forward tonight. And he says he hopes the reaction is the same elsewhere:

"We want to call on our brothers and sisters across the world: please do not respond to this ignorant fellow. Please do not respond."

Violent protests erupted in Afghanistan after Jones burned a copy of the Qur’an at his Florida church.

Jones is representing himself at a trial to decide whether he should be required to pay a hefty security bond to stage his protest. Jones says he’ll hold his rally as planned, whatever the jury decides. 

A trial opening Friday morning will decide if a controversial Florida pastor will be allowed to hold an anti-Islamic rally outside a Dearborn mosque later in the day.     The pastor complains the trial itself is an attempt to deny him his constitutional rights. 

Pastor Terry Jones insists he won’t burn a copy of the Qur’an as he has done in the past during his planned rally outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.  Still, Wayne County officials worry his protest may spark violence.   The city of Dearborn denied his permit request. 

A Wayne County judge is impaneling a six-person jury to hear the county's case against a controversial Florida pastor.

Terry Jones wants to conduct an anti-Islamic rally Friday  in front of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. County officials want to stop him.

The county is asking a judge to place restrictions on Jones, including having him  pay for police protection  for his rally, and to move the rally to a different part of Dearborn.

A controversial Florida pastor says he will lead a rally against radical Islam outside a Dearborn mosque this Friday, despite pleas for him to cancel or move his event to another location.  Late Wednesday, the city of Dearborn denied the pastor's permit to protest in front of the Islamic Center of America, meaning he could be arrested if he goes through with his plans for a rally.

Dr. Terry Jones has gained notoriety in recent years for his attacks on Islam.   His burning of a Qur'an in his Florida church last fall led to deadly riots in Afghanistan.   Now, he's coming to Dearborn.  Jones plans to hold a rally in front of the Islamic Center of America.   

Dearborn mayor John O'Reilly wants Jones to reconsider.  The mayor sent an open letter to Jones today, outlining why he's wrong about Dearborn and Islam.  Here's the letter: 

Dear Pastor Jones: