On Wednesday evening, an unknown male reportedly approached the Islamic Society of Frederick in Frederick, Maryland, ripped off a large American flag that was displayed at the gate at the entrance of the mosque and walked away. There were members of the congregation inside of the mosque during the incident.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, on Friday called for an investigation.

In a statement, CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said:

“Targeting a house of worship and tearing down a symbol like the American flag is an apparent attempt to intimidate the local Muslim community. We urge law enforcement authorities to investigate this troubling incident as a potential hate crime. Every community deserves to feel safe and secure in their place of worship.”

On Thursday, CAIR called on law enforcement authorities in West Virginia to step up security in the area of mosques and Islamic institutions and investigate a reported online threat to “kill” Muslims in that state.

In that Facebook group discussion, participants reportedly asked, “Where’s the nearest mosque,” followed by, “Let’s put it to a combat vote,” and: The good news is we don’t have the [sic] go to another country to kill them. There are plenty of them here!”

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Also on Thursday, CAIR’s Ohio chapter welcomed federal charges filed against Wyatt Brzoska, a 20-year-old Valley City man accused of posting online threats and planning a violent attack against a mosque in Columbia Station, Ohio.

Washington, D.C.-based CAIR recently said it has documented 17 incidents targeting Islamic places of worship in May, June, and July to date. The 17 incidents represent 51 percent of the previous year’s total and a 183 percent increase over the same three-month period last year, during which CAIR documented six such incidents.

CAIR’s latest civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025 – the highest number ever recorded by the organization since it began publishing civil rights reports in 1996.

Source: Cair.com