The U.S. Department of Justice is opening an investigation into a proposed Muslim development of a North Texas mosque.
Sen. John Cornyn sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon last month asking them to to investigate potential “religious discrimination” at the East Plano Islamic Center's EPIC City, a proposed housing development that would be located in unincorporated Collin and Hunt counties.
Cornyn said in a press release on Friday the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation in response to his concerns.
“I am grateful to Attorney General Bondi and the Department of Justice for hearing my concerns and opening an investigation into the proposed EPIC City development in North Texas,” Cornyn said. “Religious discrimination and Sharia Law have no place in the Lone Star State. Any violations of federal law must be swiftly prosecuted, and I know under the Trump administration, they will be.”
Dan Cogdell, the attorney for EPIC, said the North Texas mosque will cooperate with the investigation.
"EPIC will cooperate fully with any and all investigations — regardless of how misguided and unnecessary they are," Cogdell said.
EPIC City is a proposed 402-acre development associated with the East Plano Islamic Center mosque. It would be roughly 40 miles northeast of Dallas near the city of Josephine. The mixed-use development would include a new mosque, more than 1,000 single- and multi-family homes, a K-12 faith-based school, senior housing, an outreach center, commercial developments, sports facilities, and a community college.
Yasir Qadhi, a resident scholar at the East Plano Islamic Center and one of the people involved in the project planning, told KERA in an interview last year EPIC City is not exclusive to Muslim residents.
“It’s an open community,” Qadhi said. “Anybody can come in. We're welcoming people of all backgrounds and diversity and we're offering them facilities that we think would be very, very useful.”
The proposed development is still in the early stages. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the mosque last month to cease any construction or face legal action. Representatives for the project developer, Community Capital Partners, have said construction of the development is years away.
Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have announced several probes into the project in recent weeks. They allege, without evidence, that the project could be discriminating against non-Muslims in violation of the Texas Fair Housing Act. They also claim the project could cause potential financial harm to investors, may be violating Texas consumer protection laws, and is operating illegal funeral services.
Mustafaa Carroll, the executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth office of the Council of American Islamic relations, said at a press conference in April that Abbott and Paxton have abused their power by launching groundless investigations into the East Plano Islamic Center and its project and violating their rights to religious expression.
“We're talking about elected officials who people trust everything that they say, no matter what it is,” Carroll said. “Whenever you have an elected official, especially the governor, the strongest official in the state, making a statement, calling on his other entities to investigate, it throws a cloud over the community.”
Paxton announced he plans to challenge Cornyn in the GOP primary race for the U.S. senate seat last month. His office shared a press release announcing Paxton was investigating local officials involvement with EPIC City hours after Cornyn shared the letter he sent to the Attorney General asking for the Department of Justice to investigate.
EPIC's attorney Dan Cogdell said in a previous interview with KERA the group will cooperate with Paxton throughout any investigation — but added he was confused by the AG's latest demand.
"I don't even know what Paxton is talking about," Cogdell said.
The two men are no strangers: Cogdell represented Paxton during his 2023 impeachment in the Texas Legislature and defended the AG amid his securities fraud allegations.
"Instead of issuing press releases, perhaps they should pick up the phone and call me," Cogdell said. "They've got the number."
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a Report For America corps member for KERA News.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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