Why is journalist and attorney Margot Cleveland suing Dearborn, Michigan?

In this episode of The Brief: Insights From The Inside, Shabbos Kestenbaum sits down with Margot Cleveland, senior legal correspondent for The Federalist and counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance, to discuss her federal civil-rights lawsuit against the City of Dearborn and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

Cleveland alleges that Dearborn used taxpayer money and city property to celebrate Ramadan while ignoring repeated requests for comparable recognition of Easter, Passover, and other Christian and Jewish holidays. She says the issue is not whether the city can recognize Ramadan — but whether government officials can favor one faith while refusing equal treatment to others.

The conversation covers the First Amendment, the Establishment Clause, equal protection, religious liberty, Ramadan banners, a crescent-moon display in a public park, city-funded religious messaging, public-records requests, and Cleveland’s claim that Dearborn retaliated against her after she spoke out as both a resident and a journalist.