Photo: Courtesy of Je Donna Dinges
A Black woman is taking legal action against a former neighbor who displayed a Ku Klux Klan flag in his window facing the family's home. According to FOX 2 Detroit, the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at the University of Law School has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Je Donna Dinges and her daughter, India Dinges, Tuesday morning (November 21) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The lawsuit alleges Ryan Wilde engaged in a string of racially-charged threats and incidents against the family which ultimately forced them to move from Grosse Point Park, which is near Detroit. This included Wilde hanging a KKK in the window of his home, which was initially reported in February 2021.
While Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy called what happened to the family "despicable," she declined to press charges against Wilde over the KKK flag in March 2021.
"We felt terrorized in our own house and feared for our lives," Je Donna Dinges said in a press release. "I thought the days of the KKK forcing Black families out of white neighborhoods and threatening to burn down Black homes was a thing of the past."
The filing accuses Wilde of ethnic intimidation and violating a Reconstruction-era law by unlawfully interfering with the Dinges' property rights. Documents detailed several incidents, including Wilde allegedly placing a full can gas can in their recycling bin, firing guns multiple times in the middle of the night on his property, and throwing trash in the street in front of the Dinges' home.
Wilde eventually took down the KKK flag following nationwide outrage and a local demonstration drawing hundreds of people. Despite this, he reportedly kept harassing the Black family.
"This case harkens back to a shameful time in our history when the KKK used threats and violence to enforce segregated neighborhoods," CRLI Student Attorney Sarah Hall said. "We, like the hundreds of Grosse Pointe residents who marched in support of our clients, will work to ensure that those who make racial threats are held accountable."
No word on whether Wilde has obtained legal representation for the federal lawsuit.
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