A group of Muslim community members and families choose a park to share food and socialize after early morning prayers on the last Saturday of each month.
But on the morning of Dec. 27, a community member called Shaimaa Zayan, the operations manager for the Austin chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations — a group advocating for Muslim civil rights — after an event in Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park to tell her about two men dressed as crusaders expressing hate speech.
A community member called 911 and police officers responded, asking the two men to leave, Zayan said. The two men refused to leave, but the police officers stayed while the community members packed up their belongings and left for their safety.
The council’s national team posted a video of the incident online, where one of the two men is seen saying, “You’re all evil, and you’re all going to Hell,” among other hate speech, to the people gathered. The local chapter also went public, calling on state leadership and the Austin Police Department to address the incident.
“Unfortunately, while abhorrent, the actual speech captured in the video is protected under the First Amendment,” City Manager T.C. Broadnax wrote in a statement published after the incident. “However, after reviewing the video, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis is making immediate changes in how these types of incidents are handled.”
Broadnax wrote that in events where hate speech is involved, responding police officers will call a supervisor at the scene.
“In many instances — while hate speech is not illegal — individuals may be cited for other violations, such as causing a disturbance,” Broadnax wrote.
APD did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Zayan said the council was happy with the city and APD’s response, now requiring police officers to call their supervisors if an incident involves a hate component or speech.
“When we speak up, we bring change,” Zayan said. “We bring positive change for everyone, not only for the Muslim community.”
According to We All Belong, the city’s anti-hate campaign, a hate incident is “an act motivated by bias that may not rise to the level of a criminal act,” which differentiates it from a hate crime.
“The City of Austin takes reports of hate crimes and incidents seriously,” We All Belong’s website states. “While not all hate incidents rise to the level of a crime, they are all unacceptable and should be reported.”
After receiving the phone call, Zayan said she made sure the community members filed a report about the incident with APD.
“I commend those who stood up against this religiously-motivated harassment and reported it to APD and the City,” city council member Mike Siegel wrote in a statement after the incident. “We all deserve to enjoy our parks and public spaces free from harassment and discrimination.”
In November 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the council as “foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations,” according to a news release.
The Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters of the council sued the state in response, according to a news release from Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“(People) need to know what are the consequences of this kind of speech that is adopted by the state officials,” Zayan said. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, politicians are speaking.’ It affects communities.”
