Sen. John Cornyn announced that the DOJ had opened the investigation in May.
COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — The Department of Justice has ended its investigation into EPIC City, a Muslim-centric development proposed in Collin County, according to a letter from the DOJ obtained by WFAA.
Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon confirmed the DOJ closed the investigation in a June 13 letter to Community Capital Partners, a development group involved in the project.
Sen. John Cornyn announced the DOJ had opened an investigation into the proposed project in May.
“Based on your responses and other information we have gathered, it appears that Community Capital Partners (“CCP”) has purchased the 402-acre undeveloped pasture in Collin and Hunt Counties, but has not yet sought any permits to develop the property, which is still in the planning stage,” the letter read. “You also state that you expect to begin the permitting process for a residential development in July or August of this year, but believe that full development may take several years. Finally, CCP has affirmed that all will be welcome in any future development, and that you plan to revise and develop marketing materials to reinforce that message consistent with your obligations under the Fair Housing Act. Based on this information, the Department is closing its investigation at this time.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which had previously called on the DOJ to reject the request for the investigation, praised the announcement that the investigation was dropped in a statement.
“We welcome the dropping of this investigation and hope the DOJ’s actions send a clear message to the governor and other officials in Texas that they should similarly drop their Islamophobic witch hunt targeting Muslims in that state,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Elected officials should respect the Constitution and serve all state residents instead of abusing their authority to discriminate against Muslims.”
EPIC recently bought more than 400 acres of property north of Josephine near the intersections of County Roads 850 and 695 for the proposed development, which includes more than 1,000 homes, a school, retail areas, parks and more centered around a mosque.
The proposed development had previously drawn the ire of state officials. Gov. Greg Abbott announced in April that a dozen state agencies were investigating “potential illegal activities conducted by EPIC and its affiliated entities.” Also in April, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called for records from Plano ISD officials related to his office’s investigation into EPIC City.
Community Capital Partners, which has been in communication with local and regional community leaders to discuss plans and take input on the EPIC City development, previously said it’s “disheartened that our project has become fodder for pandering and political theater.”
“The consistent attacks and unwarranted investigations speak volumes about the state of politics and have little to do with our project, or our vision,” Community Capital Partners said in a statement. “We look forward to correcting the misinformation about EPIC City, and we will continue to work to create a diverse, safe and inclusive community — one in which everyone is welcome and people of every background, faith, and culture can live together in harmony.”