There was tension on Saturday when a group of anti-Islam protesters assembled outside a mosque in Irving, Texas, according to Fox 4 News. With Irving Police Department officers and SWAT teams watching from a safe distance, some of the protesters openly carried rifles and had banners denouncing any plans to resettle Syrian refugees inside the United States.
The protesters assembled under a group calling itself the Bureau on American Islamic Relations (BAIR), with one banner reading "Stop the "Islamization of America."
"It's a boiling pot. The kettle...the top on this kettle is on really really tight and it is going to blow," said a protester who did not wish to give out his name. "I may look like their version of a racist but I'm not. I'm not even a racist here. I just don't want them to push their beliefs down my throat," he went on.
BAIR spokesman David Wright said his group represented many people who had concerns about Islam in America but were afraid to come out publicly, according to the Huffington Post.
"I think the popular belief is people are scared. They're scared to say anything about it. They're scared to come out to a place like this and stand in front of a mosque and protest Islam," Wright said while toting a 12-gauge shotgun.
The mosque in Irving, which also doubles as an Islamic center, has been dogged by rumors recently, with some locals claiming that it was operating an Islamic sharia court inside, according to Inquisitir.
Wright was also quoted as claiming that Muslims in the town had made death threats against Beth Duyne, Irving's mayor. These allegations weren't immediately substantiated.
David Palmer, a member of Irving's City Council, downplayed any threats posed by the armed protesters after some mosque leaders had called him to protest.
"Does it look like there's any threat here? Nobody's even close to them," said Palmer.
"My initial impression was they were using them for intimidation," Palmer added. "I doubt that they'd be happy if some of the Muslim churchgoers here showed up at their Christian church, their Baptist church, their Methodist church tomorrow morning with rifles slung over their shoulders."
