Texas
Department of Justice closes investigation into Muslim-centered community
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has closed a federal civil rights investigation into a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas without filing any charges or lawsuits.
The Justice Department had opened the investigation after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called for it, arguing that the development could discriminate against Christian and Jews.
The developers of the proposed EPIC City community tied to the East Plano Islamic Center, have complained they are being bullied by multiple federal and state investigations because they are Muslim.
A June 13 Justice Department letter to Community Capital Partners, the group developing the project, noted the department is closing the investigation.
“CCP has affirmed that all will be welcome in any future development,” the letter said. The group wrote that they plan to revise and develop marketing materials to reinforce that message.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment further. The letter was first reported Wednesday by the Dallas Morning News.
Community Capital Partners had said the development would adhere to the Fair Housing Act and any other state and federal guidelines, and that the community would be open to members of all religions.
The federal investigation had escalated pressure on the proposed EPIC City, which has faced steady criticism and multiple investigations. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP state officials have claimed the group is trying to create a community that excludes non-Muslims and would impose Islamic law on residents.
The developers have said they are not seeking to impose religion on anyone, and that the community would follow state and federal law.
Among its chief critics has been the state’s hard-right Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn for his Senate seat in 2026.
Dan Cogdell, an attorney for EPIC City who defended Paxton in his 2023 impeachment trial when he was acquitted by the state Senate, noted how quickly federal officials had wrapped up their probe.
None of the investigations would be happening if the community was planned around a Christian church or Jewish temple, Cogdell said.
“The false accusations that have been swirling around the development were based solely on misinformation, lies and false rumors,” Cogdell said. “Frankly, the politicians that have repeated them
without ever bothering to look at any fact should be embarrassed.”
The state investigations include whether the development is violating financial and fair housing laws and whether funeral practices at the mosque were done legally. The status of those investigations remained unclear Wednesday. Cogdell said the developers will cooperate with anyone who asks.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has criticized the federal and state probes as bullying the Muslim community and a violation of constitutionally protected religious expression.
“We welcome the dropping of this investigation and hope the DOJ’s actions send a clear message to the governor and other officials in Texas that they should similarly drop their Islamophobic witch hunt targeting Muslims in that state,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Plans for the mixed-used development include more than 1,000 homes and apartments, a faith-based school for kindergarten through 12th grade, a community college, assisted living for older residents and athletics fields.
The project may take years to finish. The developers have said they will not even start the initial permitting process for several more months.
EPIC City would be near the community of Josephine, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Dallas.
Pennsylvania
Jury convicts man of killing Temple University officer, hands him a life sentence
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia jury on Wednesday convicted a suburban man for killing a Temple University police officer who had chased him down as a suspect in a series of carjackings.
That Miles Pfeffer killed Officer Christopher Fitzgerald had not been in dispute. The murder trial largely centered on whether the February 2023 shooting death was intentional.
After less than a half-hour of deliberations, jurors found him guilty of murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery and gun crimes, prosecutors said. He was then sentenced to life without parole, plus decades for robbery.
Assistant District Attorney Bob Wainwright, who prosecuted the case, called Fitzgerald “the kind of police officer that we want in our city. And when you murder a police officer, yes, there is kind of significance to the importance of that kind of a case. Because our society depends on the police to function.”
Lawyers for Pfeffer, who was arrested hours later on his mother’s sprawling 18th century Bucks County farm property in upscale Buckingham, said he was a frightened 18-year-old who panicked that night. Pfeffer is now 20 years old.
Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements that Fitzgerald gave chase after spotting Pfeffer, his brother and a friend dressed in black and wearing masks in an area where there had been a series of robberies and carjackings. Two of the teenagers hid. Fitzgerald caught up with Pfeffer and ordered him to the ground, leading to a struggle, authorities said.
Pfeffer then pulled out a gun and shot Fitzgerald six times, sometimes at point-blank range, prosecutors said. A security camera video played in court for jurors showed some of the chase and shooting.
Pfeffer’s brother testified against him at trial.
Wainwright said prosecutors believed they had a strong case, crediting investigators for getting witness statements and collecting Pfeffer’s DNA from a carjacked vehicle.
“Here we had six gunshots, all the vital parts of the human body, all at close range and all caught on video in a way that showed just kind of the viciousness of it,” Wainwright told reporters after court was adjourned.
Fitzgerald, 31, was married and a father of four children.
Assistant Defender Susan Ricci said in openings that Pfeffer’s actions had not been premeditated.
But Assistant District Attorney Lauren Crump said the video of Pfeffer standing over the officer and shooting proved his intent.
District Attorney Larry Krasner opposes the death penalty and did not pursue it in this case, despite calls for capital punishment from Fitzgerald’s father, a former city officer who now runs the Denver transit police, and the Temple University Police Association, which called Krasner’s decision “devastating.”
Department of Justice closes investigation into Muslim-centered community
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has closed a federal civil rights investigation into a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas without filing any charges or lawsuits.
The Justice Department had opened the investigation after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called for it, arguing that the development could discriminate against Christian and Jews.
The developers of the proposed EPIC City community tied to the East Plano Islamic Center, have complained they are being bullied by multiple federal and state investigations because they are Muslim.
A June 13 Justice Department letter to Community Capital Partners, the group developing the project, noted the department is closing the investigation.
“CCP has affirmed that all will be welcome in any future development,” the letter said. The group wrote that they plan to revise and develop marketing materials to reinforce that message.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment further. The letter was first reported Wednesday by the Dallas Morning News.
Community Capital Partners had said the development would adhere to the Fair Housing Act and any other state and federal guidelines, and that the community would be open to members of all religions.
The federal investigation had escalated pressure on the proposed EPIC City, which has faced steady criticism and multiple investigations. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP state officials have claimed the group is trying to create a community that excludes non-Muslims and would impose Islamic law on residents.
The developers have said they are not seeking to impose religion on anyone, and that the community would follow state and federal law.
Among its chief critics has been the state’s hard-right Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn for his Senate seat in 2026.
Dan Cogdell, an attorney for EPIC City who defended Paxton in his 2023 impeachment trial when he was acquitted by the state Senate, noted how quickly federal officials had wrapped up their probe.
None of the investigations would be happening if the community was planned around a Christian church or Jewish temple, Cogdell said.
“The false accusations that have been swirling around the development were based solely on misinformation, lies and false rumors,” Cogdell said. “Frankly, the politicians that have repeated them
without ever bothering to look at any fact should be embarrassed.”
The state investigations include whether the development is violating financial and fair housing laws and whether funeral practices at the mosque were done legally. The status of those investigations remained unclear Wednesday. Cogdell said the developers will cooperate with anyone who asks.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has criticized the federal and state probes as bullying the Muslim community and a violation of constitutionally protected religious expression.
“We welcome the dropping of this investigation and hope the DOJ’s actions send a clear message to the governor and other officials in Texas that they should similarly drop their Islamophobic witch hunt targeting Muslims in that state,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Plans for the mixed-used development include more than 1,000 homes and apartments, a faith-based school for kindergarten through 12th grade, a community college, assisted living for older residents and athletics fields.
The project may take years to finish. The developers have said they will not even start the initial permitting process for several more months.
EPIC City would be near the community of Josephine, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Dallas.
Pennsylvania
Jury convicts man of killing Temple University officer, hands him a life sentence
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia jury on Wednesday convicted a suburban man for killing a Temple University police officer who had chased him down as a suspect in a series of carjackings.
That Miles Pfeffer killed Officer Christopher Fitzgerald had not been in dispute. The murder trial largely centered on whether the February 2023 shooting death was intentional.
After less than a half-hour of deliberations, jurors found him guilty of murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery and gun crimes, prosecutors said. He was then sentenced to life without parole, plus decades for robbery.
Assistant District Attorney Bob Wainwright, who prosecuted the case, called Fitzgerald “the kind of police officer that we want in our city. And when you murder a police officer, yes, there is kind of significance to the importance of that kind of a case. Because our society depends on the police to function.”
Lawyers for Pfeffer, who was arrested hours later on his mother’s sprawling 18th century Bucks County farm property in upscale Buckingham, said he was a frightened 18-year-old who panicked that night. Pfeffer is now 20 years old.
Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements that Fitzgerald gave chase after spotting Pfeffer, his brother and a friend dressed in black and wearing masks in an area where there had been a series of robberies and carjackings. Two of the teenagers hid. Fitzgerald caught up with Pfeffer and ordered him to the ground, leading to a struggle, authorities said.
Pfeffer then pulled out a gun and shot Fitzgerald six times, sometimes at point-blank range, prosecutors said. A security camera video played in court for jurors showed some of the chase and shooting.
Pfeffer’s brother testified against him at trial.
Wainwright said prosecutors believed they had a strong case, crediting investigators for getting witness statements and collecting Pfeffer’s DNA from a carjacked vehicle.
“Here we had six gunshots, all the vital parts of the human body, all at close range and all caught on video in a way that showed just kind of the viciousness of it,” Wainwright told reporters after court was adjourned.
Fitzgerald, 31, was married and a father of four children.
Assistant Defender Susan Ricci said in openings that Pfeffer’s actions had not been premeditated.
But Assistant District Attorney Lauren Crump said the video of Pfeffer standing over the officer and shooting proved his intent.
District Attorney Larry Krasner opposes the death penalty and did not pursue it in this case, despite calls for capital punishment from Fitzgerald’s father, a former city officer who now runs the Denver transit police, and the Temple University Police Association, which called Krasner’s decision “devastating.”
