by
Dr. Ahmed Ghanim
Ahmed Ghanim, a Muslim Arab American who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for Congress this year, is suing the entertainment venue after being kicked out of a Kamala Harris campaign event at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on Oct. 21.
He was booted from the venue before Harris took the stage with former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, alleges the venue gave no reason for his ejection and discriminated against him based on race and relgiion. He is asking for an unspecified amount of damages.
"Dr. Ghanim was left humiliated, confused, and distressed by the pretextual reason for his ejection from a public political event," Ghanim's lawyer Shereef Akeel wrote in suit.
The suit describes Ghanim, a Ferndale resident, as an Egyptian-born writer, poet and community leader who immigrated to the U.S. after receiving his medical degree in Cairo. He has been a vocal opponent of the war in Gaza.
The suit says he cleared all security clearance checkpoints and took a seat, prepared to listen to Harris.
After the incident, Ghanim wrote on X:
"They kicked me out without any reason, even after I received confirmation to attend and passed a security clearance at the gate. After I was seated, they called me and asked me to leave without any explanation."
In a video, he posted, a plainclothes Royal Oak police detective asks him to leave.
"I wanna know why you are kicking me out," he asks the officer, who responds: "I'm not kicking you out. The venue is kicking you out."
Ghanim then asks: "Who is the venue?"
The officer responds: "I have no idea."
Ghanim lost in the August Democratic primary to incumbent Congress member Haley Stevens, who got 87 percent of the vote.
Steven has been a big proponent of Israel. Ghanim has been a vocal critic of the Gaza war.
During his campaign he said it was "disgusting and indefensible" that Israel was killing innocent civilians in Gaza, and said the U.S. and Stevens were complicit.
