Bikers Ditch Anti-Muslim Rally in Dearborn
More police were on hand than Terry Jones supporters in attendance.
Jones, in a black leather Harley Davidson jacket, jeans, with blue-tinted sunglasses and a handlebar mustache, said he and a cavalcade of nearly 100 bikers from an organization called American Patriotic Riders made passes at mosques in Detroit and Dearborn before arriving at Dearborn City Hall for a rally.
Except the bikers never arrived. Jones said they feared police would photograph their license plates and conduct surveillance on them.
"They all had good leather jackets on; they looked really tough," said Jones to about 20 attendees, not including media and law enforcement. But "they're a bunch of stinking cowards ... "
Jones, whose anti-Muslim rhetoric has included widely condemned burning of the Quran, spoke for more than 15 minutes on his perception that the religion is evil, focusing heavily on his opposition to Sharia law, the government enforcement of Muslim rules.
Jones, a pastor, leads the organization Stand Up America Now, an organization that criticizes Islam. Jones said American Patriotic Riders invited him to Dearborn and his organization paid the travel expenses for himself and several other members.
There were no Jones protestors in attendance, but several admonished Jones from passing vehicles or bicycles. Several people in Islamic dress watched from across Michigan Avenue.
Jones took issue with the heavily-fortified police presence. When his pre-rally procession attempted to pass the Dearborn Islamic Center -- where the protest was supposed to take place before police forced the move to City Hall -- they found police wouldn't allow access.
Source: mlive
