Dearborn Ramadan Displays Spark Federal Lawsuit
20th September 2026
Margot Cleveland, a Dearborn resident since 2007 and senior legal correspondent for The Federalist, a conservative online publication, filed a 42-page complaint Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Represented by the American Freedom Law Center, a nonprofit legal group, Cleveland alleges city officials spent taxpayer money on Ramadan displays while ignoring her requests for equal recognition of Easter and Passover.
The complaint accuses Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and the city of violating the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from favoring one religion over another, as well as Cleveland’s free speech and equal protection rights.
